LS Polls: SP candidate Akshay Yadav confident of win, says one-sided contest in Firozabad

The News Mill

Opposition Slams Adityanath Over Starvation and Biryani Remarks

Opposition Slams Adityanath Over Starvation and Biryani Remarks Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Samajwadi Party and BSP, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the ''poor were victims of starvation'' and the ''terrorists were fed biryani'' when they were in power. The chief minister addressed separate election rallies in Sikandrarau for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Anup Pradhan from Hathras seat and Firozabad constituency candidate Thakur Vishwadeep Singh. ''The poor, farmers, women and youth were not in the agenda of the SP (Samajwadi Party), Congress and BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party). They only did vote bank politics, they committed the sin of dividing the caste and society,'' Adityanath said in Hathras. ''During their (opposition governments) time, the poor were victims of starvation and the terrorists were fed biryani. The farmers used to commit suicide and the corrupt people used to enjoy life of luxury, he added. Adityanath said the ''mafia used to wield power as patrons'', but work is being done today in the country and the state ''without any discrimination''. He claimed that more work was done under the BJP rule than what was done by the Congress, Samajwadi Party and BSP. Even in the meeting in Firozabad, the chief minister hit out at the Congress and the Samajwadi Party stating these people want to give permission for cow slaughter on the land of Ram and Krishna. Taking aim at the Congress, Adityanath said the people of 'Discovery of India' think that Ram and Krishna never existed. He said that on one hand the Modi government is giving free ration to 80 crore people of the country, on the other hand even the ration of even the poorest of the poor was wasted during the Congress rule. ''After Kashi and Ayodhya, we have moved towards Mathura,'' Adityanath said. Targeting the Samajwadi Party, he asked whether they have ever done anything for the development of Braj region. Taking potshots at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath said that these people did not think anything outside their family and keep defaming caste in the name of nepotism. His sympathy is not with the poor but with the mafia, he added. Voting will be held in the third phase in Hathras and Firozabad on May 7.

Question existence of those who questioned existence of Lord Ram: CM Yogi's appeal to people

Question existence of those who questioned existence of Lord Ram: CM Yogi's appeal to people Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday appealed to the public to question the existence of those who had once questioned the existence of Lord Ram. In the public meeting organized at Tilak Inter College in Firozabad on Saturday, he not only enumerated the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government but also attacked Congress and the Samajwadi Party. He said, 272 seats are required to form the government, but whether it is SP or Congress, they are not fighting on that many seats alone. Congress says that Ram did not exist. That means India did not exist before this. People should question the existence of those who question the existence of Ram and Krishna. Enumerating the works of his party, he said, Highways, and expressways are being built in the country, and railway and metro facilities have increased. IIMs, IITs, AIIMS were also formed. There was a time when the Firozabad product was on the verge of closure. Central and state officials used to harass local artisans. As soon as we came to power, we dealt with it strictly. Today, One District, One Product of Uttar Pradesh is popular in the entire country. CM Yogi accused the Congress of taking away the ration but, today 80 crore people are getting ration. He said, SP had tried to withdraw the cases of terrorists who attacked Ayodhya, Sankat Mochan Mandir, judiciary, CRPF Camp Rampur. The court had to intervene. He asked the public whether they would vote for SP which is playing with the people and security system of the country? He further said, Ayushman Bharat cover is given to 60 crore people, Jan Dhan account of 50 crore people, who do not have treatment facility, they wrote me a letter and I make sure that they get the money in their bank accounts. CM Yogi claimed that the houses of the poor now had toilets. 10 crore poor people got free cylinders. It has been asked to provide free cylinders during Holi and Diwali. Electricity for 2.5 crore houses, houses for 4 crores. Did we see anyone's caste or religion? That's why the slogan of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas was given. This is the concept of Ramrajya, said Yogi. Referring to the discussion on inheritance tax, he said Congress divided the country in 1947. Now they are saying that they will get every person's property surveyed and take half. Your forefathers did the hard work and will distribute it to those, Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. People by whom the population is being increased. They are playing with India's security. The rights of backward and scheduled castes will be robbed and SP will support them. Congress says that it will implement the personal laws of minorities. We have to see their intentions. Before their plans can succeed, they have to be brought to the right place with the power of votes. BJP removed Article 370 and has put the last nail in the coffin of terrorism. Will enforce UCC also when coming back in power, added Yogi. BJP has fielded Thakur Vishwadeep Singh as its candidate for the constituency while SP has filed Akshay Yadav. Polling in the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat is slated to be held in the third phase of general elections on May 7. (ANI)

Cattle Menace: A Pressing Issue for Farmers in Western Uttar Pradesh

Cattle Menace: A Pressing Issue for Farmers in Western Uttar Pradesh ''When I come to work in the fields in the morning, stray cattle are standing there, ready to attack. I was once hit on the back and was hospitalised for a week,'' says Keshav Kumar, a farm worker in Pilkhana village in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras. Besides, he said, he has been chased by cows and Nilgai multiple times. Dharmendra Singh, a farmer, in Firozabad's Akilabad village, says, ''I lost 30 per cent of my produce due to stray cattle entering my field. There is drought, unseasonal rain and now this stray cattle menace. What are we supposed to do?'' Instances like these are not uncommon in western Uttar Pradesh and encapsulate the stray cattle menace that farmers have been struggling with for several years now. The problem, exacerbated by recent policy changes, has emerged as a major issue in western Uttar Pradesh in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The importance of the issue can be gauged from the fact that it is the sole deciding factor for some. ''I voted for 'phool' (referring to the BJP's party symbol lotus) in the last two general elections thinking that this problem would be solved. As the problem remained unresolved, I didn't vote for them in the assembly polls and plan to vote for the SP this time,'' Kumar said. In villages across western Uttar Pradesh, the sight of emaciated stray cattle roaming around has become all too common and so is the sight of destroyed crops. When they can't enter fields, many cows feed on plastic and garbage. Farmers are also upset over the state government's decision to reinforce an old order that no barbed wires should be used to fence fields. Now, most farmers use plain wires or saris and dupattas to fence fields. ''They are of no use. We don't understand why the government cannot understand our losses,'' said Akilabad farmer Singh. According to the 2019 Livestock Census, there are over 1.90 crore cattle in Uttar Pradesh, including 62,04,304 milch cows and 23,36,151 dry cows. The indigenous female cattle population increased by 10 per cent in 2019 compared to the previous census in 2012. The population of exotic and cross-bred cattle increased by 26.9 per cent from 2012 to 2019. The stray cattle menace has also added to farmers' economic woes as they do not know what to do with cows that have stopped giving milk. ''Earlier, we would give the old cow in exchange for 10-20 per cent of the down payment and get a new one. But with the new policy, even that is not possible. We have no option but to either sell them illegally or abandon them,'' said a farmer who did not wish to be named. In May 2017, the Centre banned the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets across the country. The environment ministry notified the stringent 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017' under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Every village in western Uttar Pradesh has a cow shelter but they are at capacity.

SP names nephew from Kannauj, 5 Yadav family members in fray

LUCKNOW: Putting a lid on the possibility of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav contesting the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, the party on Monday announced the name of his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav as the party candidate from Kannauj. With the announcement of Tej Prataps name, now five members of Yadav family are in fray Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri, Akshaya Yadav from Firozabad, Aditya Yadav from Badaun and Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh. Initially, Akhilesh had shown an inclination to contest from the seat but after his run-in with jailed SP leader Azam Khan over Rampur Lok Sabha seat, the SP chief withdrew himself from the contest from any seat in the state. During Akhileshs meeting with Azam Khan in Sitapur jail on March 22, the latter had suggested the SP chief to contest from Rampur but Akhilesh did not agree to it and announced that he would not contest the Lok Sabha polls at all. However, after the twists and turns that followed, the party fielded Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi from the Rampur. The other factor that played out for SP chief to decide against contesting the LS polls was that it would have got him engaged in his own campaign restricting him from canvassing for the party candidates across the state. The ground reports from the eight constituencies of the first phase strongly suggest that INDIA bloc is on a sound footing. Consequently, it was decided that the SP chief leading the party campaign across the state would be a better option, said a senior party leader. Earlier, Tej Pratap had contested 2014 Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll at 26 after SMulayam Singh Yadav vacated the seat. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he had headed Mulayams election campaign in Mainpuri. In 2022 assembly polls, he led Akhileshs campaign in Karhal.

BJP's Firozabad candidate ages 15 years in a decade, sparks outcry

BJPs Firozabad candidate ages years in a decade sparks outcry

UP: BSP announces 11 more candidates

UP: BSP announces 11 more candidates Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has announced candidates for 11 more Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The party has also changed candidates for the Firozabad and Varanasi seats. The new BSP candidate in Varanasi will be Syed Niyaz Ali while in Firozabad, the party has named [] The post UP: BSP announces 11 more candidates appeared first on Mangalorean.com .

BJP names Vishwadeep Singh as candidate from Firozabad, sparks discontent

BJP names Vishwadeep Singh as candidate from Firozabad sparks discontent

Asaduddin Owaisi's Uttar Pradesh gambit and why it has left the BJP chuckling in delight

The year was 2015. For Sanjarpur, a small village in Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh, an offer for its adoption by a political leader could well have helped it shun the image of being a error nursery after its two residents, both Indian Mujahideen operatives, were eliminated in Delhis Batla House encounter in 2008. However, the fact that the offer came from the All India Majlis Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi from distant Hyderabad made the village people realise quickly that it was nothing more than an attempt by him to win over Muslims in UP. Owaisi, also an MP from Hyderabad in Telangana, reportedly applied to the government for adopting the village under the Sansaad Adarsh Gram Yojna, but nothing further is known of the fate of that application. Hyderabad: Despite anti-incumbency, Owaisi is frontrunner The Owaisi initiative caused sleepless nights for Samajwadi Party leader and the then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who was into the third year of his term: his comfort zone of the Muslim-Yadav (MY) support was jolted. Long confined to his state, Owaisi had turned to UP (and subsequently Bihar) in the same year. He visited Lucknow during the month of Ramzan (corresponding to July) in 2014 and met, among others, Maulana Saeed Athar Qasmi of the Tehreek Umar Society, an outfit ostensibly dedicated to welfare projects for the Muslims. Qasmi was entrusted with the task of strengthening the membership drive and Mohammad Shaukat Ali of Azamgarh was made the party convenor in the state. In the following year, Owaisi visited the state in January, April and July and brothers Asaduddin and Akbaruddin established a line of contact with the community through a couple of local Muslim leaders in Lucknow and Azamgarh. A rattled Akhilesh Yadav did what he could to check Owaisi's inroads and denied him permission to hold a public meeting in the state as long as he remained the Chief Minister. As per Owaisis own claims, made in a rally in Azamgarh on January 12, 2021, Akhilesh had stopped him from visiting UP 12 times. PDM versus PDA A lot has changed since then. For the 2024 election, Owaisi's party is in alliance with Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), besides two smaller outfits Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party and Rashtriya Uday Party. The alliance thus formed is named PDM, standing for Pichhdaa (backward), Dalit and Muslim. It came into being after Pallavi Patel's party separated from the INDIA bloc after its demand to be handed the Mirzapur, Phulpur and Kaushambi Lok Sabha seats was not met. Incidentally, PDM seeks to counter Akhilesh's favourite phrase PDA - Pichhdaa (backward), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (backward.) The combination of a Kurmi-dominated Apna Dal (K) and a Muslim-oriented AIMIM may pose a serious threat to Samajwadi Party as both have a score to settle with Akhilesh Yadav. Already, PDM has announced candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats, which includes a Muslim candidate from Rae Bareli and OBC candidates from Bareilly, Hathras, Firozabad, Fatehpur, Bhadohi and Chandauli. SP realizes that Owaisi wishes to make inroads into UP by playing the Muslim card even as the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress are keen on doing the same. The importance of being Akhilesh Yadav in this Lok Sabha election Interestingly, despite having a substantial Muslim population, Uttar Pradesh has not seen a Muslim community-oriented political outfit achieve electoral success in the last several decades. On the other hand, caste-oriented parties as SP and BSP have done much better to achieve dominance in the state. Muslims preferred to support either of these parties after the Congress lost its appeal a few decades ago. The AIMIM has had some success in Bihar, though. In the 2020 Bihar elections, Owaisi's party had won five seats (but in June 2022, four of the MLAs joined the RJD). In this Lok Sabha election, AIMIM has decided to contest 11 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Maulana Mulayum and the Azam Khan factor In the past, there was a notable attempt to form a Muslim-driven party when the Peace Party, launched by Dr Mohammad Ayub Khan, a medical practitioner from eastern UP in February 2008, contested the UP Assembly elections in 2012 and won four seats. Although it professed to espouse the cause of Dalits and Muslims, its approach was to offer an alternative to Muslims as 'their' party. Interestingly, the past three decades have seen very few leaders emerge from the community itself. Mulayam Singh Yadav held sway over the community, earning the sobriquet of Maulana Mulayam with his strident statements favouring the community especially during 1989-1991. It was in the SP that Muslims saw a tall leader in Azam Khan of Rampur, who wielded considerable influence in western UP. He did help SP consolidate their hold among the community but Akhilesh's arrival in 2017 saw him being marginalised. In the words of S Abbas, a senior lawyer in Lucknow, he SP was considered a well-wisher of Muslims only until Mulayam was alive, but Akhilesh does not care for the community. His disregard for Azam Khan when the latter was hounded by the present government is not unnoticed by the community. The Owaisi plan and its impact Senior Muslim politicians such as Ahmed Hasan, Shafiqur Rahman Burq and ST Hasan did emerge but could not find place in the core team of Akhilesh Yadav. Incidentally, the criminals turned politicians from the community such as Atiq Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari, only had a limited and local appeal. Mukhtar Ansari: End of a don of many states, many parties In the 2022 Assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party gave tickets to 88 Muslim candidates, followed by the Samajwadi Party, who gave it to 64 candidates, and the AIMIM, who gave it to 60. Of these only 32 from SP and 2 from Rashtriya Lok Dal were elected. In some constituencies, AIMIM got more votes than the margin by which the SP candidates lost. If the SP had got those AIMIM votes also, it would have won easily. AIMIM aims to specifically target Muslim-dominated regions, as is evident by Owaisi's recent visit to the family home of late Mukhtar Ansari in Ghazipur and his meeting with local leaders. Incidentally, for some reason Akhilesh visited Ansari household much later. Zia-ul-Haq, a native of Basti, notes that Owaisi has a limited appeal among UP's Muslims primarily because he is a Shia from southern India. His brand of politics has so far not appealed to the community but some educated young Muslims have been drawn to his arguments and statements. His being a lawyer obviously helps. Even though the so-called Muslim vote bank appears to have lost its ability to sway elections in the last 10 years, Owaisi is obviously attempting to rise as the community's go-to leader by playing upon their fears. For the BJP, it means a further fragmentation of the Muslim votes, as the BSP, too, has chosen to field a large number of Muslims this time. Owaisi is widely seen as a polarising figure and if he engages in frequent campaigning, it might lead to further polarization, helping BJP's prospects. It is not for nothing that Owaisi is termed as the B-team of the BJP, observes Abbas. ( Ratan Mani Lal is a senior journalist based in Uttar Pradesh. )

Minister dropped but wife named in Punjab, Shivaji descendant in Maharashtra

NEW DELHI : The BJP dropped yet another Union minister from its 12th list of candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats, and instead fielded his wife from the Hoshiarpur constituency in Punjab. The party has also fielded a descendant of an erstwhile royal Maratha family of Chhatrapati Shivaji, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member, from the high-profile Satara seat. Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale received BJPs recognition on a seat from where Praful Patel of Ajit Pawar-led NCP, now a BJP ally in the ruling Maharashtra coalition government, was eager to contest. Bhosale won the Satara seat in 2019 as a candidate of the then-undivided NCP. A few months later, he resigned and joined the BJP. But in the bypolls that followed, Bhosale lost as a BJP candidate against NCPs Shrinivas Patil. Later, the BJP nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in April 2020. His term is due to end in 2026. The third notable BJP candidate on the list is Abhijit Das, who will lock horns with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjees nephew Abhishek Banerjee, from Diamond Harbour that votes on June 1 in the final phase of the elections. Das is the former president of the partys South 24 Parganas district unit and is said to be very articulate. Das belongs to RSS and had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections in 2014. With his candidature, the party has announced all 42 candidates from West Bengal. In Punjab, the BJP dropped Union minister Som Parkash from Hoshiarpur, but fielded his wife Anita Som Parkash from the seat. The party believes Som Parkash holds subtantial influence in the constituency. The BJP had won the Hoshiarpur seat in 2014. In 2019, Som Parkash won the seat defeating Congress Raj Kumar Chabbewal. In the previous polls, the party was at loggerheads with its erstwhile ally SAD over the Hoshiarpur seat. The BJP has now fielded former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu from Bathinda that is currently represented by SADs Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Sidhu is the daughter-in-law of senior Akali leader Sikander Singh Maluka and joined the BJP recently with her husband Gurpreet Singh Maluka. A 2011-batch IAS officer, she would be pitted against Congress Jeet Mohinder Sidhu and AAPs Gurmeet Singh Khudian. Interestingly, SAD has not yet announced its candidate from Bathinda. The BJPs latest list came only three days ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The partys Central Election Committee also announced candidates in Uttar Pradesh. The party has so far fielded candidates for 430 seats out of the total 543 LS seats. In Uttar Pradesh, the party has fielded Vishwadeep Singh from Firozabad and Shashank Mani Tripathi from Deoria, dropping MPs from these seats. A party source said the anti-incumbency on these two seats was the prime factor behind dropping the MPs. Former IAS officer to fight from Bathinda The BJP has fielded former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu from Bathinda, currently represented by SADs Harsimrat Kaur Badal.Sidhu is the daughter-in-law of Akali leader Sikander Singh Maluka. She is pitted against Congress Jeet Mohinder Sidhu and AAPs Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

BJP benches Firozabad MP, fields son of former MP

Thakur Vishwadeep Singh, son of Thakur Brajraj Singh, contests Firozabad against Akshay Yadav and Satyendra Jain, promising development. Voting on May 7. Acknowledges BJP's 2019 victory margin, Akshay's defeat factors, and Shivpal Singh Yadav's influence.

BJP releases 12th list of candidates; fields Abhijit Das against Mamata`s nephew

For Uttar Pradesh, Vishwadeep Singh and Shashank Mani Tripathi will contest from Firozabad and Deoria respectively on BJP tickets in Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

LS polls 2024: BJP replaces Union minister Som Parkash with his wife in Hoshiarpur

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday named seven more candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, from Satara in Maharashtra. The ruling party dropped Union minister Som Parkash from Hoshiarpur in Punjab but decided to field his wife Anita Som Parkash to keep the influential local leader's support intact. It has fielded former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu, who comes from an influential political family long associated with the Akali Dal, from Bathinda. In Uttar Pradesh, the party has fielded Vishwadeep Singh from Firozabad and Shashank Mani Tripathi from Deoria, dropping its sitting MPs from the two seats. It has named Abhijit Das from Diamond Harbour in West Bengal. With the new list, the party has named its candidates for around 430 seats for the polls to 543 seats starting from April 19. The party also released its second list of 21 candidates for the Odisha assembly polls, fielding former minister Dilip Ray from Rourkela. So far, the BJP has named 133 candidates for the sate polls.

A walk to remember through Delhi's rich history

On a bright sunny day, we are at the Hauz-e-Alai reservoir in Hauz Khas, its colour a bright shamrock with the reflection of verdant canopy enclosing it. As we gaze at its waters from under the shade of a mighty tree, the serene experience is broken by a startling revelation. We are standing above the deceased heads of Mongols, says walk leader Srushti Sharma, adding how the ground beneath our feet is where Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji severed the heads of the invaders in a 13th century battle and buried them around the area where he was eventually to lay the foundation stone of the second city of Delhi, Siri, with Hauz Khas at the epicentre. The grim episode piqued the interest of a group of 11 who had joined the walk to know about Hauz Khas evolution. This walk is an attempt to explore the lesser-known parts of Delhi, a city comprising eight cities from the medieval age, namely Siri, Lal Kot, Mehrauli, Tughlakabad, Firozabad, Shergarh, Shahjahanabad, and New Delhi, Nidhi Bansal, co-founder of Delhi Walks, tells TMS. She and Ambica Kapoor, founder of Delhipedia, have initiated #AnyGivenSunday. The walks will focus not just on one particular monument but concepts such as urban spaces, their distribution, intangible heritage, oral histories and other facets of Delhi, Kapoor adds. From rural to urban village The story of Hauz Khas as an urban village began in the wake of Indias Independence. Between the 1940s and the 1950s Jat farmers moved into the land that was left behind by Muslim families who had migrated to Pakistan during Partition. After 1947, when the government was categorising land in Delhi as agriculture or residential, committees were unclear regarding places like Hauz Khas because they did not fall neatly in any one category and yet had a strong rural community. Cafe Pink That is when the government came up with the concept of urban villages, places that were also exempted from building by-laws, construction norms and regulations, which led to unplanned residential and commercial growth. Come the 1990s and globalisation, musicians, artists, art historians, scholars, socialites and university students either began to set up their creative outlets in that area also one of Delhis first urban spaces with a night life or patronise them. Bansal claims shehad spotted the late artist, MF Husain, walking barefoot in Hauz Khas as he considered its lanes a cave of ideas. Bastion of fashion As we move through the labyrinthine lanes, passing fashion stores such as Megha and Jigar, Mohitt Sacchdev, and Ogaan, one wonders what made Hauz Khas a fashion hub? The credit goes to Indian-origin designer Bina Ramani. She came upon Hauz Khas in 1987 when she was looking for a space to open her first store in Delhi, Once Upon A Time. In her autobiography, Bird in a Banyan Tree: My Story, she recounts the warm reception she got from the villagers when she first visited the place in the 80s. We learn that Ramani was drawn to the fashion sense of the Jat villagers as demonstrated by their attire all done with beautiful handcrafted prints. Ramanis Hauz Khas store popularised ethnic-chic, with other designers following suit and opening showrooms. Graffiti and tattoo culture Past the fashion boutiques in the crammed lanes, we now stand opposite Cafe Pink. It is flanked by two towering walls painted with arresting graffiti and wall art. From classical art figures, a sketch of cartoon character SpongeBob and a digital poster tribute to Pink Floyds song Comfortably Numb, to scribbles of Azaadi, the wall is an open canvas of ideas. But who has drawn on it? This is the work of Daku, an urban artist with a concealed identity, who had caused chaos in Delhi back in 2010 during the Commonwealth Games when he clandestinely modified traffic sign boards and painted graffiti in the dead of night. This wall at Hauz Khas is partly drawn by him along with other street artists. While Daku was seen as a threat to national security back then, his impressions on Hauz Khas walls echo thought-provoking messages on popular struggles and free speech, with international reports even calling him Indias Banksy. Like walls, peoples bodies too became a canvas as many tattoo studios opened in Hauz Khas. Due to affordable rents, it became a go-to place for people to convert their passions into entrepreneurial professions, our walk leader informs, pointing out the Garden of Eden, one of the earliest tattoo parlours here. Links to cinema Our next stopover is the Hauz Khas fort that has a special connection with the movie Rockstar. Director Imtiaz Ali chose the ruins of the fort as the location to shoot a scene where Nargis Fakhri and Ranbir Kapoor, feeling rebellious, take a swig. Being a Delhiite, I used to visit Hauz Khas often during my college days. Its only now that I am able to contextualise everything, says actor Radha Bhatt of series Sunflower fame. She is excited hearing movie anecdotes during our walk. We complain a lot about Delhi its pollution, weather, traffic but the city has a lot to offer and its right in front of us, she adds. The final point of our walk is Hauz Khas Social, a popular restobar; here Imtiaz Ali shot a scene for the movie Tamasha. Bansal tells us that while the boho-meets-ritz charm of Hauz Khas may have faded over the past few years with urban centres such as Gurugram and Greater Kailash coming up, walks like this, filled with interesting anecdotes, can tell us about the lost aspects of Delhi. In future, Delhi Walks and Delhipedia plan to hold walks at Shahpur Jat and Safdarjung Tomb, and night-time trails at museums, among other experiences.

Uttar Pradesh shocker: 23-year-old Dalit girl set on fire by lover, parents in Firozabad

A 23-year-old Dalit girl was set on fire by three persons allegedly over a financial dispute in the Dakshin area of Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

BJP yet to announce names for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh

Several factors are at play with the BJP looking for new candidates in some constituencies, while at the same time, trying to keep caste equations in its favour, in several other seats. These 12 constituencies also include Balia, Ghazipur, Machhlishahr which borders Prime Minister Narendra's seat Varanasi in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Kaiserganj, Firozabad, Prayagraj, Bhadohi, Deoria, Kaushambi, and Phulpur.

UP: Neither wife nor son, Brij Bhushan firm on Kaiserganj poll arena

LUCKNOW : While the suspense over a dozen seats of Uttar Pradesh, including Kaiserganj, continues as the BJP is yet to announce its candidates, the sitting tainted MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is believed to be adamant about contesting from Kaiserganj himself. Notably, Singh has been facing legal proceedings in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation of female wrestlers while being the president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). He was removed from the post following prolonged protests by the wrestlers in New Delhi last year. As per sources, owing to the taint, while the ruling party had given him the options of fielding the candidate of his choice either his wife Ketaki Singh or son Prateek Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj, even after several rounds of talks, the sitting MP does not seem to be ready to budge and is pushing for his own candidature. However, the final call will be of the central leadership of the BJP. Not only the central leadership but also the state unit of BJP feels that facing the allegations of sexual exploitation of female wrestlers, Singhs candidature would give ammunition to the Opposition to target the ruling alliance in the field. The BJP insiders claim that the state unit of the party has already sent its report to the central leadership regarding the 12 seats on which the candidates have to be announced. It is expected that the list for these 12 seats will be released before April 10. Of the 12 seats, including Rae Bareli, Deoria, Kaiserganj, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Phulpur, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Bhadohi and Machhlishahar, on which the candidates are yet to be announced, BJP had lost three Mainpuri, Rae Bareli and Ghazipur winning the rest nine in the 2019 elections. According to party sources, the nine sitting MPs may be changed in the ensuing elections. The BJP is also waiting for the Congress to announce its candidate in Rae Bareli. The party will assess the situation and then move ahead with its choice of candidates, which include MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had contested against Sonia Gandhi in 2019.

Tainted Brijbhushan 'adamant' on contesting from Kaiserganj but BJP top brass may not oblige

LUCKNOW: While the suspense over the BJP candidates in a dozen seats in Uttar Pradesh continues, the sitting MP from Kaiserganj Brijbhushan Sharan Singh is believed to be adamant at contesting from there again. It may be recalled that Brijbhushan Sharan Singh has been facing legal proceedings in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation of female wrestlers while being the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). He was removed from the post following a prolonged protest by the wrestlers in New Delhi last year. Sources said that owing to the taint, the ruling party had given him the option of fielding the candidate of his choice -- either his wife Ketaki Singh or son Prateek Bhushan Singh -- from Kaiserganj, but even after several rounds of talks, the sitting MP does not seem to be ready to budge and is pushing for his own candidature. However, the final call will be of the central leadership of the BJP. Not only the central leadership but the state unit of the BJP also feels that following the allegations of sexual exploitation of female wrestlers, the candidature of Brijbhushan Sharan Singh would give ammo to the opposition to target the ruling alliance. BJP insiders claim that the state unit of the party has already sent its report to the central leadership regarding the 12 seats for which the candidates have to be announced. BSP treads cautiously, fields Muslim candidate against Rajnath, OBC against Dimple Yadav Of the 12 seats -- Rae Bareli, Deoria, Kaiserganj, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Phulpur, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Bhadohi and Machhlishahar -- the BJP had lost three -- Mainpuri, Rae Bareli and Ghazipur -- winning the remaining nine in the previous general elections in 2019. As per party sources, the nine sitting MPs may be changed in the ensuing elections by the party central leadership. The BJP is waiting for the Congress to announce its candidate in Rae Bareli to assess the situation and then move ahead with its choice which includes MLC and Yogi minister Dinesh Pratap Singh who had contested against Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 battle. The other name that may be considered is that of Manoj Pandey, the SP turncoat, or a surprise candidate imported from outside Rae Bareli. Similarly, in Ballia, Virendra Singh Mast may be sent to some other seat. Rita Bahuguna Joshi had already announced her retirement from electoral politics during the 2022 UP Assembly elections when she was seeking a ticket for her son Mayank who later joined the SP. In Bhadohi, the party may consider the candidature of Congress turncoat and former MP Rajesh Pandey, while the candidate for Ghazipur would be decided in consultation with J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha who had lost the last election to BSP candidate Afzal Ansari now contesting from the SP. 2024 LS Polls: SP Caught in bind yet again, this time in Badaun over Shivpal's candidature

PM Modi to address digital NaMo rally of UP BJP booth members, 'panna pramukhs' on Apr 3

PM Modi to address digital NaMo rally of UP BJP booth members, 'panna pramukhs' on Apr 3 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday will address a digital NaMo rally through the NaMo app at all 22,648 booths of 10 Lok Sabha seats going to the polls in the third phase in Uttar Pradesh. According to a BJP release issued here on Tuesday, the prime minister will also interact with some booth presidents on this occasion. Prime Minister Modi will connect through the NaMo app with the workers of 22,648 booths of Sambhal, Badaun, Bareilly, Aonla, Etah, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seats on Wednesday at 1 pm, BJP state general secretary Sanjay Rai said in the release. The prime minister will address the booth committee members and 'panna pramukhs', it added. The office-bearers of state, area and district units will also go to their booths and join this NaMo rally. Modi will also personally talk to some booth presidents and get information about the activities of the party, it added. Voting for the 10 seats in the third phase will take place on May 7.

PM Modi to address booth committees members, panna pramukhs of UP virtually tomorrow

PM Modi to address booth committees members, panna pramukhs of UP virtually tomorrow Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the digital Namo rally through the Namo app at all the booths of 10 Lok Sabha seats falling under the third phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. On this occasion, he will also talk to some booth presidents. State General Secretary Sanjay Rai said that in the third phase, voting will be held on May 7 in Sambhal, Badaun, Bareilly, Aonla, Etah, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad and Mainpuri. Prime Minister Modi will connect with the workers through the Namo app on April 3 at 1 pm at 22,648 booths in all these Lok Sabha seats. Sanjay Rai said that the Prime Minister will address the booth committee members and panna in-charges in the Namo rally. He said that state, regional and district officials will also join this Namo rally by visiting their booths. He said that the Prime Minister himself will talk to some booth presidents and will also get information about the party's activities. Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning April 19. Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs, 80, to Parliament, will vote in all seven phases. Earlier in the 2019 elections, proving all the arithmetic of the SP-BSP 'mahagatbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh wrong, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal(S) won 64 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. The alliance partners, Akhilesh Yadav's party and Mayawati Party's, won 15 seats. Voting for phases one and two will be held on April 19 and April 26. Next, the state will once again poll in phases three and four on May 7 and May 13. The Uttar Pradesh electorate will also vote in phases five, six and seven on May 20, May 23 and June 1 respectively. The votes will be counted on June 4. The elections for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held from April 19 to June 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4. (ANI)

Uttar Pradesh: Battle to protect political legacies

LUCKNOW : Be it Samajwadi Partys Ikra Hasan from Kairana, Ziaur Rehman Barq from Sambhal, four candidates of Mulayam Singh Yadav clan, including Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh, Shivpal Yadav from Badaun, Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri and Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, BJP candidate Kirtivardhan Singh from Gonda, the infamous Ansari clans Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, TMC candidate Lalitesh Pati Tripathi from Bhadohi, swords are out for the political legacies that are at stake. Kairana SP candidate Ikra Hasan from Kairana, to vote in the first phase, is working hard to protect the legacy of three generation of her family. Her grandfather Chaudhury Akhtar Hasan had won from Kairana on Congress ticket in 1984 defeating BSPs Mayawati, as it was her debut in electoral politics. Ikras father Munnawar Hasan was elected from the same seat as SP candidate in 1996. After his death in a road accident in 2008, his wife Tabassum Hasan (Ikras mother) took the baton and won the seat in 2009 and also in 2018 by-poll. Ikras brother Nahid Hasan is an SP MLA from Kairana Assembly segment but he is in jail due to multiple criminal cases. Sambhal SP MP late Shafiqur Rehman Barq represented the constituency for five times in the Lok Sabha. He had also represented the assembly segment of Sambhal four times. He was announced the party candidate for ensuing elections as well but the party chose his grandson Ziaur Rahman Barq as its candidate from the seat following the death of Shfiqur Rehman Barq, 92, due to old age. Zia is the SP MLA from Kundarki seat of Moradabad. Etawah The Yadav clan rules the roost here and is counted among the biggest political families of the country. This family of SP patriarch late Mulayam Singh Yadav is striving hard from western to eastern UP to protect its political legacy. Four members of Yadav clan have already taken command of four Lok Sabah seats including Akhilesh Yadavs cousin Dharmendra Yadav in Azamgarh, Dimple Yadav in Mainpuri, Akshay Yadav (son of SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav) in Firozabad and Akhileshs uncle Shivpal Yadav in Badaun. Some more seats could be assigned to the family members. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav may also test the poll waters from Kannauj himself or field his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav. Ghazipur The infamous family of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari calls the shots here. This time, BSP MP Afzaal Ansari, Mukhtars brother, switched sides and is riding the cycle as SP candidate. The political influence of the family in Ghazipur and adjoining areas can be gauged from the fact that all the three Ansari brothersMukhtar, Afzaal and Sigbatullahand their sons have won 16 elections altogether during the last 39 years. Afzaal himself has represented Mohammadabad assembly segment five times (1985-2002). He has won from Ghazipur LS seat twice. Youngest Mukhtar has been a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat, which is now represented by his son Abbas. Eldest Sigbatullah has been a two-time MLA from Mohammadabad in 2007 and 2012. Now his son Suheb Ansari is SP MLA from Mohammadabad seat. Bhadohi The prestige of Congresss one of the most prominent political families of yore is at stake in the carpet town of Bhadohi from where Laliteshpati Tripathi is contesting as Trinamool Congress candidate. Lalitesh left Congress and joined TMC in 2021 breaking a century-old ties with the grand old party when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was party in-charge of eastern UP. Lalitesh is the great-grandson of Kamlapati Tripathi, a former Congress stalwart and former UP CM. Lalitesh belongs to one of the most illustrious political families of Congress and his ancestral houseAurangabad house in Varanasiused to be the nerve centre of Congress activities in UP. He has been Congress MLA from Madihaan seat of Mirzapur. Gonda This seat is likely to witness a fierce battle between two political families. The scion of Mankapur royal family and BJP MP Kirtivardhan Singh will be facing SP candidate Shreya Verma, grand-daughter of prominent SP leader Beni Prasad Verma who had his clout among Kurmi caste group. While Kirtivardhan is making all-out efforts to make a hat-trick as BJP MP from Gonda and fifth term in th Lok Sabha from the same seat. He had won 1998 and 2004 election from Gonda as SP candidate. His father Anand Vardhan Singh represented the seat in 5th, 7th, 8th and ninth Lok Sabha as Congress MP. On the other, Shreya Verma is trying hard to reclaim her grandfathers territory as he had won it in 2009 as Congress candidate.

Battle to protect political legacies on cards in UP

LUCKNOW: With the stage set for the biggest battle of ballots for 18th Lok Sabha, the political parties have started announcing their warriors to command the fronts belonging to high profile political families and the challenge is to protect their legacies. Be it SPs Ikra Hasan from Kairana, Ziaur Rehman Barq from Sambhal, four candidates of Mulayam Singh Yadav clan including Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh, Shivpal Yadav from Badaun, Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri and Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, BJP candidate Kirtivardhan Singh from Gonda, the infamous Ansari clans Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, TMC candidate Lalitesh Pati Tripathi from Bhadohi, swords are out for the political legacies are at stake. Ikra Hasan Kairana: The SP candidate Ikra Hasan from Kairana, to vote in the first phase, is toiling hard to protect the legacy of three generation of her family. Her grandfather Chaudhury Akhtar Hasan had won from Kairana on Congress ticket in 1984 defeating BSP candidate Mayawati, as it was her debut in electoral politics. Ikras father Munnawar Hasan was elected from the same seat as SP candidate in 1996. After his demise in a road accident in 2008, his wife Tabassum Hasan (Ikras mother) took the baton and won the seat in 2009 and also in 2018 by-poll. Ikras brother Nahid Hasan is an SP MLA from Kairana Assembly segment but he is in jail due to multiple case of criminal offences registered against him. Sambhal: SP MP late Shafiqur Rehman Barq represented the constituency for five times in Lok Sabha. He had also represented the assembly segment of Sambhal four times. He was announced the party candidate for the ensuing elections as well but the party chose his grandson as its candidate from the seat following the demise of Shfiqur Rehman Barq, 92, after prolonged illness due to old age. Zia is the SP MLA from Kundarki seat of Moradabad. Ziaru Rehman Barq Etawah: The Yadav clan rules the roost here and is counted among the biggest political families of the country. This family of SP patriarch late Mulayam Singh Yadav is striving hard from western to eastern UP to protect its political legacy in Uttar Pradesh. Four members of Yadav clan have already taken command of four Lok Sabha seats including Akhilesh Yadavs cousin Dharmendra Yadav in Azamgarh, Dimple Yadav in Mainpuri, Akshay Yadav (son of SP RS MP Prof Ram Gopal Yadav) in Firozabad and Akhileshs uncle Shivpal Yadav in Badaun. Some more seats could be assigned to the family members. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav may also test the poll waters from Kannauj himself or field his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav. Akshay Yadav Dimple Yadav Akshay YadavGonda: This seat is likely to witness a fierce battle between two political families. The scion of Mankapur royal family and sitting BJP MP Kirtivardhan Singh will be facing SP candidate Shreya Verma, grand-daughter of prominent SP leader Beni Prasad Verma who had his clout among Kurmi caste group. While Kirtivardhan is making all out efforts to win make a hat-trick as BJP MP from Gonda and fifth term in Lok Sabha from the same seat. He had won 1998 and 2004 election from Gonda as SP candidate. His father Anand Vardhan Singh has represented the seat in 5th, 7th, 8th and ninth Lok Sabha as Congress MP. On the other, Shreya Verma is trying hard to reclaim her grandfathers territory as he had won it in 2009 as Congress candidate. Ghazipur: The infamous family of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari calls the shots here. This time, the sitting BSP MP Afzaal Ansari, Mukhtars brother, has switched sides and is riding the cycle as SP candidate. The political influence of the family in Ghazipur and adjoining areas can be gauged from the fact that all the three Ansari brothersMukhtar, Afzaal and Sigbatullahand their sons have won 16 elections altogether during the last 39 years. Afzaal himself has represented Mohammadabad assembly segment five times (1985-2002) in UP Assembly. He has won from Ghazipur LS seat twice. Youngest Mukhtar has been a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat which is now represented by his son Abbas. Eldest Sigbatullah has been a two-time MLA from Mohammadabad in 2007 and 2012. Now his son Suheb Ansari is SP MLA from Mohammadabad seat. Bhadohi: The prestige of Congresss one of the most prominent political families of yore is at stake in the carpet town of Bhadohi from where Laliteshpati Tripathi is contesting as Trinamool Congress candidate. Lalitesh had left Congress and joined TMC in 2021 breaking a century-old ties with grand old party when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was party in-charge of eastern UP. Lalitesh is the great grandson of Kamlapati Tripathi, a former Congress stalwart and former UP CM. Lalitesh belongs to one of the most illustrious political families of Congress and his ancestral house Aurangabad house in Varanasiused to be the nerve centre of Congress activities in UP. He has been Congress MLA from Madihaan seat of Mirzapur.

On high-stake 80 seats, Varanasi, Gorakhpur go to polls in last phase

LUCKNOW: With the notification for Lok Sabha elections issued by the Election Commission on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh, politically the biggest state of the country, will witness voting across all seven phases starting from April 19 and ending on June 1. UP sends 80 members, including the Prime Minister, to the lower house of Parliament. Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a candidate, and Gorakhpur, considered the stronghold of CM Yogi Adityanath, will vote in the seventh and last phase on June 1. Adityanath had represented Gorakhpur in Lok Sabha from 1998 till 2014, and the seat is now represented by Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan. While the BJP has repeated Ravi Kishan in Gorakhpur, the Samajwadi Party has fielded model Kajal Nishad. State capital Lucknow, once the stronghold of former PM late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now represented by defence minister Rajnath Singh, will vote in the fifth phase, along with Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Gandhi family bastions, on May 20. Ayodhya and the four seats of Bundelkhand region will also go to polls in the fifth phase. Voting in the Samajwadi Partys strongholds will be held in the third and fourth phases Mainpuri, Etah and Firozabad under Agra division in the third on May 7, and Etawah and Kannauj in the fourth on May 13. Dimple Yadav, SP chief Akhilesh Yadavs wife, is sitting MP from Mainpuri. In the first phase, 8 seats of western UP, including constituency number 1 Saharanpur and Rampur, bastion of SPs jailed leader Azam Khan will vote on April 19. Eight seats will vote in second phase on April 26 and 10 in third phase on May 7.

15.34 crore eligible to vote in UP's seven-phase election; Polling in Varanasi, Gorakhpur in final phase

15.34 crore eligible to vote in UP's seven-phase election; Polling in Varanasi, Gorakhpur in final phase Around 15.34 crore people are eligible to vote in Uttar Pradesh - a politically crucial state with 80 Lok Sabha seats where elections will be held in seven phases from April 19. According to the poll schedule announced by the Election Commission on Saturday, single-phase polling will be held in 15 states and seven Union Territories, while staggered elections will be held in the rest of the 13 states and Jammu and Kashmir. Elections will be held in seven phases in the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. ''At present, there are around 15.34 crore voters in Uttar Pradesh, of which 8.17 crore are males and 7.17 crore are females. ''There are 6,638 third gender voters, while there are more than 12.51 lakh divyaang voters,'' State Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa told reporters. He said there are 92,587 polling stations in the state, while there are over 1.62 lakh polling booths. According to the election schedule, eight parliamentary constituencies in UP will vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 19. These are Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina (SC), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit. The seventh and final phase of polling will be held on June 1, and among the seats it will cover are Varanasi -- represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- and Gorakhpur, the pocket borough of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Voting in the second phase will take place on April 26 and it will cover eight parliamentary constituencies of Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautambuddh Nagar, Bulandshahr (SC), Aligarh and Mathura. Ten parliamentary constituencies of Sambhal, Hathras (SC), Agra (SC), Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Budaun, Aonla and Bareilly will go to polls in the third phase on May 7. The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls in UP will witness voting on May 13 and will cover the 13 constituencies of Shahjahanpur (SC), Khiri, Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Hardoi (SC), Misrikh (SC), Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah (SC), Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur and Bahraich (SC). State capital Lucknow will go to polls on May 20, in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The other (13) seats going to polls in the fifth phase in the state are --- Mohanlalganj (SC), Rae Bareli, Amethi, Jalaun (SC), Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (SC), Barabanki (SC), Faizabad, Kaisarganj and Gonda. The sixth phase of the general elections will cover 14 seats of Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phoolpur, Allahabad, Ambedkarnagar, Shravasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj (SC), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi. Voting in the sixth phase will be held on May 25. Apart from Varanasi and Gorakhpur, the other parliamentary constituencies that will go to polls in the seventh phase are Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC). The counting of votes will be held on June 4. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 62 seats and its ally Apna Dal (S) two seats, brushing aside the challenge of the SP-BSP alliance. The Congress won the lone Rae Bareli seat of Sonia Gandhi. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was the biggest gainer in the alliance with 10 seats. Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party won five seats and the smallest partner Rashtriya Lok Dal couldn't open its account in the polls.

Samajwadi Party releases list of another six candidates, Dharmendra Yadav to contest from Azamgarh

LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi party, on Saturday, released another list of six candidates. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's cousin Dharmendra has been fielded from Azamgarh. The other candidates are Dr Mahendra Nagar from Gautam Budhh Nagar, Manoj Rajvanshi from Mishrikh, Bheem Nishad from Sultanpur, Jitendra Dohre from Etawah and Narain Das Ahirwar from Jalaun. The Samajwadi Party has 63 candidates available to contest, while the Congress, their partner in the INDI Alliance, has 17 candidates, as per the seat-sharing agreement. The SP is supposed to accommodate the smaller allies like Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), a break-away group of Apna Dal (Sonelal), sparing seats from its quota. Interestingly, out of the 43 candidates that have been announced so far, four of them happen to be family members of Akhilesh Yadav including his wife Dimple Yadav (Mainpuri), cousin Akshay Yadav (Firozabad), cousin Dharmendra Yadav (Azamgarh) and uncle Shivpal Yadav (Badaun). As per the speculations dominating the political circles of UP, SP chief may contest from Kannauj thus taking the clan figure to five. Azamgarh is believed to be the stronghold of Samajwadi Party which won all the 10 assembly segments under the parliamentary constituency during 2022 UP Assembly elections. Then Akhilesh Yadav was the sitting MP from Azamgarh. However, the party lost its bastion, dominated by Muslim and Yadav population, to the BJP in June 2022 bypoll as Akhilesh had vacated the seat to retain Karhal assembly segment which he had won in 2022 state polls. The SP had fielded Dharmendra Yadav as a safe candidate to take the family legacy forward but he lost it to BJP's Dinesh Lal Nirhaua by a slender margin of 8,679 votes. Dharmendra Yadav and Dinesh Lal Nirhaua are once again set to fight for the Azamgarh seat as their respective parties have fielded them for the Lok Sabha polls this year. The experts, however, feel that the road for Nirhaua will not be easy this time as Guddu Jamali, who was fielded by the BSP in the bypoll and had led to the division of Muslim votes, is now in the SP camp and has been nominated to UP Counsil by Akhilesh. So far, the SP has spared the Bhadohi seat from its quota for Trinamool Congress party which has fielded Laliteshpati Tripathi, the Congress turncoat and great-grandson of former UP CM and Congress stalwart Kamlapati Tripathi. The Congress, which has released two lists of 40 candidates each for multiple states, is yet to open its cards in UP. The seat will go to poll in the sixth poll along with a dozen other eastern UP constituencies.

Face Covered, Posing As Patient: How Bureaucrat Inspected UP Health Centre

An IAS officer conducted an inspection at a government health centre in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad wearing a veil and posing as a patient. The officer said that she decided to conduct the inspection after receiving several complaints regarding inconveniences faced by patients in the area.

IAS Kriti Raj: Know About Young `Ghoonghatdhari` SDM Of Firozabad - Going Viral For All The Right Reasons

A video of the Firozabad SDM Kriti Raj standing in a veil at the hospital with other patients has gone viral. She was seen checking and segregating stocks of medicine from the pharmacy at the hospital.

Face Covered, Posing As Patient: Bureaucrat Inspects UP Health Centre

An IAS officer conducted an inspection at a government health centre in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad wearing a veil and posing as a patient.

IAS officer poses as patient, inspects health centre in UP's Firozabad

IAS officer poses as patient, inspects health centre in UP's Firozabad An IAS officer conducted an inspection at a government health centre in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad wearing a veil and posing as a patient.The officer said that she decided to conduct the inspection after receiving several complaints regarding inconveniences faced by patients in the area. I had received a complaint in regards to Dida Mai health centre that the doctor was not present even after 10 am to administer an injection for a dog bite, Kriti Raj posted as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in the area said. Raj said that she took an appointment, spoke with the doctor and found his behaviour to be unprofessional. I went there anonymously in a veil. I sought an appointment and spoke with the doctor. The doctor's behaviour was not appropriate, she said. Pointing out discrepancies in the attendance of staff at the health centre, the SDM said, When I checked their attendance register I noted that some of them were absent. Some of them had signatures on the register but were not present at the health centre. Moreover around half of the stock of their medicines were found to be expired when we checked them, she added. Cleanliness and proper hygiene were also not being maintained at the health centre, the SDM said. Pointing out to the poor quality of service at the health centre, she said, Even injections were not being given properly. The staff were not working with the motive to serve people. On the steps that would be taken against the health centre officials from her office, Raj said We have taken note of all these and we will investigate, adding that they will be sending them a report. Visuals from the spot showed SDM Kriti Raj standing in a veil at the hospital with other patients. She was also seen checking and segregating stocks of medicine from the pharmacy at the hospital. (ANI)

IAS officer poses as patient, inspects health centre in UPs Firozabad

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Suspense prevails over Rae Bareli as BJP probables for remaining UP seats wait with bated breath

LUCKNOW: All eyes are on the BJP's choice of candidate for Rae Bareli after the exit of former AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and the buzz of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra replacing her mother in the Gandhi family stronghold. Various names are doing the rounds as the possible BJP candidate for the Rae Bareli seat which did not figure in the first list of 51 candidates released by the ruling party on Saturday for the Lok Sabha polls. BJP probables are waiting with bated breath for the second list of candidates for the remaining 29 seats of Uttar Pradesh, which include seven -- Moradabad, Rae Bareli, Bijnor, Ghazipur, Mainpuri, Saharanpur and Ghazipur -- where the ruling party had lost to the SP-BSP grand alliance in 2019. The BJP had fielded candidates in 27 of those remaining 29 seats in 2019 and had won 20, including Prayagraj, Bareilly, Sultanpur, Kaiserganj, Bahraich, Deoria, Ballia, Machhalisahar, Kanpur, Firozabad, Hathras, Aligarh, Badaun, Meerut, Kaushambi, Baghpat, Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Pilibhit and Bhadohi. The political experts feel that the BJP would tread cautiously in Rae Bareli and is likely to reveal its cards only after the announcement of opposition candidates including those of the Congress and the BSP. However, the names of SP turncoat Manoj Pandey, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha election in favour of the BJP candidate, and BJP MLC and Yogi minister Dinesh Pratap Singh are doing the rounds. Moreover, an equal amount of suspense prevails over two other seats having sitting members of the Gandhi family -- Sultanpur and Pilibhit -- which are represented by Maneka Gandhi and her son Varun respectively in the Lok Sabha. BJP trusts old guard in Uttar Pradesh, repeats 44 sitting MPs in first list of LS candidates Maneka Gandhi, an eight-time MP and former Union minister, is seeking re-entry into the Lok Sabha for a record ninth term though her victory margin against the BSP candidate was very thin 10,000 in 2019. Similarly, Pilibhit, represented by Varun Gandhi, who has not been let go of any chance to criticise the Modi and Yogi governments for the last couple of years, would be an interesting bet to watch out for. Varun had won the 2019 Lok Sabha election defeating his nearest rival Hemraj Verma of the SP by over three lakh votes. He had won from Pilibhit in 2009 and Sultanpur in 2014. Another seat to watch out for would be Kaiserganj, the stronghold of controversial former WFI chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. The BJP has not named the candidate for Kaiserganj, which has been represented by Singh for six terms. Singh is now facing legal proceedings after allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by women wrestlers. Sources claim that the BJP may deny a ticket to Brij Bhushan this time and replace him with his son Prateek Bhushan Singh, the sitting BJP MLA from Gonda seat. What is more, the NDA allies in UP including Apna Dal (S), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and NISHAD are also awaiting the allocation of seats of their quota. In quest for 25/25, whiff of discontent in Rajasthan as BJP's first list of candidates out Two of these seats, Mirzapur and Roberstganj, are represented by the Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (S) and it will get the same two seats. As per informed sources, NDAs new ally, the Jayant Chaudhury-led RLD, is likely to get Baghpat and Bijnor while OP Rajbhars SBSP may get the Ghosi and Ghazipur seats. The fate of the partys sitting MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi vying for a second term from Prayagraj and eight-term MP Santosh Kumar Gangwar from Bareilly hangs in the balance as age does not favour them. However, by repeating Hema Malini, 75, from Mathura, the party has given hope to Joshi and Gangwar. The name of General (Retd) VK Singh, Union minister of state for road transport and civil aviation, was also missing in the first list and so was the name of former IPS officer Satya Pal Singh, the Baghpat MP. The fate of BJP MP from Badaun Sanghmitra Maurya hangs in the balance due to her father Swami Prasad Mauryas tirade against the BJP. The BJP candidates for Mainpuri and Firozabad, the two seats of Yadav land and SP strongholds, are also expected to be announced in the next list. Disconnect with voters, anti-incumbency may have cost four Delhi BJP MPs Lok Sabha ticket

Depressed over cancellation of exam, woman ends life in UP

Lucknow: A woman has committed suicide in Firozabad city of Uttar Pradesh after she got allegedly depressed over the cancellation of police recruitment exams. The victims (Varsha) family members claimed that she committed suicide after the police recruitment examinations were cancelled following paper leaks. Varsha, a student who had also been a NCC cadet, was Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .