New Delhi:

There was a stampede-like situation at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh Tuesday that was headlined by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The chaos erupted after the former UP Chief Minister arrived at the event, with over-eager party workers and supporters jostling with each other, and climbing over wooden barriers, to see Mr Yadav.

As the jostling and shoving escalated, not helped at points by unruly sections, the meeting devolved into bedlam. This was the third time a rally led by Mr Yadav has ended in disorder.

Visuals from the scene today showed carnage at a fair ground in the town of Saraymeer, with broken chairs and torn streamers littering the ground, prompting the police to step in and try and control the situation. The cops had to resort to a lathi charge to do so.

During the chaos Mr Yadav and others, including leaders from the INDIA opposition bloc, remained on stage and appealed, in vain, for the supporters and workers to calm down. The appeals, unfortunately, had no effect. Eventually, though, police restored a measure of order and Mr Yadav addressed the crowd.

The public rally was being held for the SP candidate in the Lalganj Lok Sabha seat, which Mr Yadav’s party is trying to win for the first time since Daroga Prasad’s 2004 success. 

संतकबीरनगर में उमड़ा ये जनसमर्थन बता रहा है कि भाजपा के विरुद्ध उठा ये जन सैलाब भाजपा के काग़ज़ी कामों और झूठे वादों की कश्ती डुबो देगा।

जनता ‘इंडिया गठबंधन’ से जिस उम्मीद और भरोसे से जुड़ रही है, हम उसका मान रखेंगे।

जनता छठे चरण में भाजपा की भरपूर छँटाई कर देगी।… pic.twitter.com/CfX8SxrWjC

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 21, 2024

In 2019 the seat was won by Sangeeta Azad from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.

In this election Daroga Prasad has been fielded (as the joint INDIA bloc candidate) by the Samajwadi Party against the BJP’s Neelam Sonkar and the BSP’s Indu Chaudhry.

The Lalganj seat will vote in the sixth phase – on May 25.

This is not the first time chaos has visited one of Mr Yadav’s rallies in this election.

Earlier this week a rally in Prayagraj’s Phulpur had to be cancelled, leaving Mr Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who was also on stage, free for an impromptu on-stage chat.

READ | Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Chat On Stage As Rally Scrapped Over Chaos

Mr Yadav and Mr Gandhi had to abandon plans for another joint election meeting, each without delivering their speeches. Sources said supporters broke through barricades trying to reach the dais at the rally.

READ | Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Leave Rally Without Speech. Here’s Why

UP is a key battleground as the BJP bids for a third consecutive term in power. The state – dominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in the last two general elections and intervening state polls – sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, by far the most of any state.

According to the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties, the Samajwadi Party is contesting 63 seats while the Congress is contesting 17.

The state has voted in every phase so far and will vote in the sixth and seventh phases too.

The results will be out on June 4.

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Bhadohi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Samajwadi Party and the Congress are trying out “Trinamool politics” in Uttar Pradesh, terming it the politics of appeasement and harassment of Dalits and women.

Attacking the INDIA bloc partners at an election rally in Bhadohi, where the opposition has fielded a Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate, PM Modi said they were conducting a trial of West Bengal’s “TMC politics” in Uttar Pradesh.

“It is difficult for the Samajwadi Party and Congress to even save their deposit, so they are doing a political experiment in Bhadohi,” he said.

“Trinamool Congress politics means the murder of Hindus, harassment of Dalits and adivasis, and atrocities on women. So many BJP leaders were killed there and Trinamool MLAs say that they will kill Hindus by drowning them in the river Ganga,” PM Modi said.

“You know the kind of politics the TMC does in West Bengal,” the Prime Minister said.

The PM said the party’s politics included a “poisonous arrow of appeasement”, calling Ram temple “impure”, banning Ramnavami celebrations, sheltering Bangladeshi intruders and “vote jihad” – a term used by a Samajwadi Party candidate.

Under the previous Samajwadi Party government in the state, terrorists got special treatment and the government was kind towards the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shahjahanpur:

The Samajwadi party has changed its candidate for the Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha constituency, replacing Rajesh Kashyap with Jyotsana Gond. According to a senior election official, Rajesh Kashyap had filed his nomination from the Samajwadi party on April 22. However, Jyotsana Gond had filed her nomination from the party on April 24 because of which Rajesh Kashyap’s nomination was rejected after scrutiny on Friday. 

Polling in Shahjahanpur is scheduled in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 13. When Jyotsana Gond was approved by the party as their candidate for the Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha constituency, Rajesh Kashyap, who had filed his nomination earlier, became an Independent candidate. However, he did not have 10 proposers as required and his nomination was rejected, the official said.

Samajwadi Party district unit President Tanveer Khan told PTI that “whatever decision the party’s national president takes is welcomed. If there is any difference of opinion in anyone’s mind after the nomination is cancelled, it will be resolved.” “We are in a better position in the election in Shahjahanpur and the official candidate of the Samajwadi Party is Jyotsna Gond,” he said.

After Rajesh Kashyap’s nomination was rejected, he alleged that the party had played with him.

“I was not aware of it and a game has been played with me. I could not get information about it,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Samajwadi Party has added another notch in its revolving door of candidates for the Lok Sabha election after replacing its Meerut pick for a second time. The SP first chose Bhanu Pratap Singh to contest a seat that has voted for the BJP since 2004 but protests by the party’s local cadre prompted a change. In came Atul Pradhan – the Sardhana MLA – but his ticket was swiftly passed to Sunita Verma.

Mrs Verma – who was expelled from rivals Bahujan Samaj Party in 2019 with her husband, two-time MLA Yogesh Verma – filed her nomination papers Thursday afternoon.

Interestingly Atul Pradhan played a key role in brining the Vermas to the party.

However, their relations soured after the 2022 Assembly election, in which Mr Pradhan won from Sardhana and Mr Verma lost the Hastinapur seat. Sources have said the Vermas believe Mr Pradhan did not extend the desired help in the election.

Mr Pradhan – whose brief tenure as the Meerut candidate drew jibes from RLD boss Jayant Chaudhary – has toed the party line, saying, “Whomever the party chooses, I will support their nomination.”

READ | “Lucky Few”: Jayant Chaudhary Mocks Akhilesh Yadav’s Flip-Flop

Replacing candidates in the run-up to an election isn’t uncommon.

In some cases it may be because the party has reassessed its chances of winning a seat.

The second Meerut change was for many reasons, one of which was because Mrs Verma is from the Dalit community and the city is home to over four lakh Dalits. 

The former Mayor of Meerut, Mrs Verma will take on one of the BJP’s newer recruits – actor Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in the popular Ramayan series on TV.

However, multiple changes, for the same seat, are uncommon and may be seen as signs a party is struggling to match potentially winning candidates with just the right seat.

Apart from Meerut, the SP has run into difficulties in Moradabad, Rampur, and Budaun.

In Moradabad, the Samajwadi Party initially nominated ST Hassan, but later Ruchi Veera’s name came up. There were protests by local cadre. Confusion prevailed as both filed papers.

Finally Ruchi Veera’s candidature was confirmed.

Over in Rampur – the bastion of Azam Khan, where the jailed leader still has immense sway – there was a brief face-off between Akhilesh Yadav’s pick and that of Asim Raja from Azam Khan’s camp.

Finally, Mr Yadav’s candidate, Asim Raza, filed the nomination, but this was settled only on Wednesday, the penultimate day of filing papers.

Similar chaos prevailed in Budaun, where Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin, Dharmendra, was given the ticket that was first also wanted by his uncle, Shivpal Yadav, before he demanded it for his son, Aditya.

READ | Who Is Dharmendra Yadav, Samajwadi Party’s Azamgarh Pick?

The Budaun dilemma has not yet been settled. Technically the candidature is held by Shivpal Yadav, but sources indicate it will most likely be settled in favour of his son.

Apart from these, Mr Yadav’s party has also changed out candidates for the Baghpat, Bijnor, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Misrikh, and Sambal seats, as well as for Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. 

The change in Sambal – a seat the SP won in 2019 – was necessitated because the MP, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, died at the age of 93.

The Samajwadi Party is contesting the vast majority of UP’s 80 Lok Sabha seats – it received 63 as part of its deal with the Congress, which will contest 17, including its family bastions of Amethi and Raebareli. UP will vote in each of the seven phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

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Budaun (UP):

The brutal murder of two minor brothers here has become the talking point in the constituency ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the Samajwadi Party targeting the BJP over the law and order situation while the ruling party asserting that “rapid police action” resulted in the death of the main accused.

Located in western Uttar Pradesh, Budaun is considered the gateway to the Braj region from Rohailkhand.

Samajwadi Party, which is eyeing to reclaim the seat that it lost in 2019, has fielded Shivpal Singh Yadav as its candidate. The BJP is yet to declare sitting MP Sanghamitra Maurya as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls.

While the political fervour was building up in the constituency, two minor brothers were hacked to death on Tuesday evening, sending shock waves across the district and the state.

The double murder has altered the political discourse in the constituency.

Terming the murder as a “failure of law and order”, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the lives of the two brothers could have been saved.

“The lives could have been saved had the police worked properly. They (BJP government) can’t hide their shortcomings, this encounter is not going to hide their failure,” Mr Yadav has said.

Shivpal Yadav also attacked the government over the incident. “The incident in Budaun is very saddening but the law and order of the government has failed totally. This becomes clear by incidents like these,” he said.

Ms Maurya, who visited the house of the boys on Wednesday, assured full support to the family members and accused the SP of doing politics over the issue.

“I condemn the murder of the two minor boys. Our family of the BJP is with the grieving family. I would just say to those people who are doing politics on the issue that this is not the time to do so,” she said.

“Samajwadi Party is doing politics on the issue because its so-called fort of Budaun was demolished by the people here in 2019. The SP candidate must have seen that no one was there to ask about him in Budaun today. This is why they are doing politics on the issue,” She said.

She was apparently referring to SP leader Shivpal Yadav, who first visited Budaun last week after his name was announced as the candidate for the Lok Sabha elections.

Shivpal Yadav’s son and party leader Aditya Yadav on Thursday met the family of the dead brothers and also the district magistrate and SSP to lodge a complaint against Ms Maurya.

“BJP MP Sanghamitra Maurya made indecent, baseless and misleading remarks against our leader Shivpal Yadav. We have given a complaint to the DM and SSP in this regard. In the coming days, a team of our lawyers will file a defamation case also,” Aditya Yadav said.

Grassroots workers of both parties are trying to take their messages to the people.

“The mere fact that anyone could commit such a crime proves that he has no fear of law in his mind,” Saumitra Yadav, a local office bearer of the SP, said.

“The fear and faith in law can be instilled by ensuring that the accused are held guilty in a court of justice. Encounters do little to ensure this,” he added.

BJP members on their part are reaching out to the public with the message of swift action.

“The police managed to catch the main accused shortly after the incident and he was killed in an encounter. The other accused was also arrested within 48 hours. This shows our commitment to law and order,” Sarvesh Pandey, member of the BJP’s metropolitan unit, said.

Gauging the sensitivity of the incident, the police had sprung into action. “Our first motive was to clearly identify and arrest the accused in the case but surely a bigger challenge was to ensure law and order in the area,” Rakesh Singh, Inspector General (IG), Bareilly Range, said.

Budaun Lok Sabha seat, which comprises considerable number of voters from the minority community, was earlier considered a bastion of the SP.

The party held on to the seat from 1996 to 2014. This included four consecutive terms (1996-2004) of Saleem Iqbal Shervani and two terms (2009, 2014) of Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav.

The BJP, however, turned the tables in the 2019 polls when BJP’s Maurya defeated Dharmendra Yadav.

The polling in Budaun will be held on May 7 and the result will be announced on June 4.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

The Samajwadi Party on Friday declared six of its candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The six candidates are Yashveer Singh (Bijnor), Manoj Kumar (Nagina), Bhanu Pratap Singh (Meerut), Bijendra Singh (Aligarh), Jasveer Valmiki (Hathras) and Daroga Saroj (Lalganj), the party said on X.

pic.twitter.com/Yl2BEusSao

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) March 15, 2024

The SP gave the Bhadohi Lok Sabha seat to the Trinamool Congress.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh):

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided the premises of Samajwadi Party’s jailed MLA Irfan Solanki in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur.

According to the officials, the premises of Solanki’s brother, Arshad, was also raided.

Irfan Solanki has been lodged in jail for the past year after a woman accused him of attempting to encroach upon a plot.

So far, 17 cases have been filed against Solanki.

The MLA is also booked under several cases including plot disputes, arson, air travel with a fake Aadhaar card, and giving fake Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi citizens.

Earlier, Solanki had filed an application to cast a vote in the recently concluded the Rajya Sabha elections. However, the court had dismissed his application.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is unlikely to appear before the CBI on Thursday for questioning in an illegal mining case registered five years ago in which he is a witness, party sources said.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister is scheduled to attend a meeting of PDA “Picchda (backward classes), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minorities)” at the party office and has no plans to go anywhere till now, they said.

In reply to a question, the Samajwadi Party’s backward wing state president Rajpal Kashyap told PTI, “Akhileshji will attend a meeting of PDA at the party office today.” “He is not going anywhere. He will be attending a meeting in Lucknow,” Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said.

About the CBI notice to Mr Yadav, he said, “I don’t have detailed information regarding this. But it is sure, he is not going to Delhi today.” In a notice issued under section 160 of CrPC, the CBI has asked Yadav to appear before it on February 29, officials said. The section allows a police officer to summon witnesses in a probe.

“He is not the accused. He is a witness,” a senior official in the know of the development had told PTI.

The cases in which Yadav is summoned pertain to the issuance of mining leases in alleged violation of the e-tendering process. The Allahabad High Court had ordered the probe.

It is alleged that public servants allowed illegal mining during 2012-16, the period when Yadav was chief minister, and illegally renewed licences despite a ban on mining by the National Green Tribunal.

Reacting to the notice in the cases registered in 2019, Yadav attacked the BJP, saying, “The SP is on the maximum target (of the BJP). In 2019, I got a notice in some matters as there were Lok Sabha elections then. Now, when the election is approaching again, I am getting a notice again.” “I know, when the election comes, notice will also come. Why this nervousness? If you (BJP) have done a lot of work in the past 10 years, why are you nervous?” he posed.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

Hours after at least five Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators in Uttar Pradesh cross-voted in the election to Rajya Sabha, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said SP’s decision to field a third candidate was actually a “test” and the party’s victory lies in the fact that the rebels were identified.

“Our third seat (bid) was actually a test to identify true companions. It was to know who is with people from the backward classes, Dalits and minority communities and whose inner voice is against them. Now everything is clear. This is our third seat victory,” Mr Yadav said in a post on X. The ‘inner voice’ reference was a swipe at some rebel MLAs who said in the morning that they had listened to their “inner voice”.

हमारी राज्यसभा की तीसरी सीट दरअसल सच्चे साथियों की पहचान करने की परीक्षा थी और ये जानने की कि कौन-कौन दिल से PDA के साथ और कौन अंतरात्मा से पिछड़े, दलित और अल्पसंख्यकों के ख़िलाफ़ है।

अब सब कुछ साफ़ है, यही तीसरी सीट की जीत है। pic.twitter.com/SWzDhvtnvF

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 27, 2024

Results for the election on 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh are yet to be declared.

The SP suffered a major setback this morning when its chief whip in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Manoj Kumar Pandey, resigned hours before the election. Mr Pandey and four others were later seen flashing the victory sign with BJP’s candidate RPN Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

Mr Yadav had sensed an impending mutiny last night when eight MLAs skipped a dinner hosted by him. “We knew they would rebel when they skipped the dinner. There was a buzz that different packages have been offered. Those part of the mutiny will be expelled,” he told NDTV after casting his vote in the Assembly this morning. Earlier, he had said BJP can use all tactics to win elections. “Some of our leaders who want personal gains can go to the BJP,” he had said.

The rebellion within SP comes at a tricky time for Mr Yadav. Lok Sabha polls are months away and the party will be contesting on 63 seats out of the 80 in Uttar Pradesh.

For 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, 11 candidates are in the race — 8 from the ruling BJP and 3 from main Opposition SP. The BJP is confident of the victory of all its candidates, especially after it recently secured the support of the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rastriya Lok Dal. “We have the support of Nishad Party, Suhel Dev Samaj Party, Apna Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Jansatta Dal. I am confident all 8 NDA candidates will win,” state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary has said.

Earlier, leaders of the BJP had claimed that a section of SP legislators were in touch with them. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had even said Mr Yadav does not have the numbers to win three seats.

The BJP has 252 seats in Uttar Pradesh Assembly and the SP has 108. The BJP’s eight candidates are former Union Minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, general secretary of BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, former Agra mayor Naveen Jain and Sanjay Seth.

The SP has fielded actor MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Ramji Lal Suman. The BJP has adequate numbers to get seven candidates elected, but its move to field an eighth has forced a contest. And cross-voting can eventually help it win.

Lucknow:

In a major setback to Samajwadi Party ahead of the voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, its chief whip in the Assembly resigned this morning. The resignation of Manoj Kumar Pandey, MLA from Unchahar, came hours after as many as 8 MLAs skipped a dinner hosted by party chief Akhilesh Yadav  – a cause for worry amid the cross-voting buzz in the election to the Upper House.   

Besides hitting the SP’s prospects in this key election, cross-voting will compound the party’s worries months ahead of the general election. The SP will be contesting 63 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the INDIA alliance and a mutiny months before the polls will be a massive blow.   

Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that the BJP is putting pressure on the party’s MLAs. “This is how they work. They instil fear, threaten people, use agencies or take up any old case and pressure them. All these will not work in this election,” he said yesterday.

This morning, however, he was less confident. “We hope all three candidates of Samajwadi Party win. BJP can use all the tactics to win elections. BJP will do everything possible for victory. Some of our leaders who want personal gains can go to the BJP,” he said.

A total of 56 Rajya Sabha seats became vacant this year. Forty-one candidates were elected unopposed. Of the remaining, 10 are in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka and one in Himachal Pradesh.

For the 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 11 candidates are in the race — 8 from the ruling BJP and 3 from main Opposition Samajwadi Party.

The BJP is confident of the victory of all its candidates, especially after it recently secured the support of the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rastriya Lok Dal. “We have the support of Nishad Party, Suhel Dev Samaj Party, Apna Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Jansatta Dal. I am confident all 8 NDA candidates will win,” state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary has said.

Earlier, leaders of the BJP had claimed that a section of SP legislators were in touch with them. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party had denied this, but the absence of eight MLAs at last night’s dinner has left the main Opposition worried.

Speaking to news agency ANI, SP legislator Zahid Baig said, “Many people did not come. Maybe they are busy. But if they have taken money (to cross-vote), people will not forgive them.”

The BJP’s eight candidates are former Union Minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, general secretary of BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, former Agra mayor Naveen Jain and Sanjay Seth. The SP has fielded actor MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Ramji Lal Suman. The BJP has adequate numbers to get seven candidates elected, but its move to field an eighth has forced a contest. And it may succeed if cross-voting happens.

What’s Happening in Karnataka, Himachal

Five candidates are in the contest for four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka. The ruling Congress is confident of winning three seats, and the BJP-JDS combine has the numbers to win at least one. But the Opposition alliance’s naming of a second candidate has made it an exciting contest. Taking no changes, the ruling Congress has shifted its MLAs to a private hotel. State party chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has denied any possibility of cross-voting.

In Himachal, only one seat is going to polls. The Congress has a comfortable strength in the Assembly, but the BJP has forced a contest by fielding a candidate.