Samajwadi Party

Asim Raja, the SP candidate in Rampur, was trailing behind Ghanshyam Lodhi of the BJP. Counting of votes in Azamgarh was delayed following a dispute between the district administration and Yadav over allowing entry into the strong room where EVM machines were kept. BJP spokesman S.N. Singh said that this was the initial trend and the BJP would win both seats.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav, on Friday, convened a meeting of all party MPs and legislators and got them to sign forms, proposing the name of Sinha for the top post. Akhilesh Yadav also warned his party leaders to beware of efforts that could be made to break opposition unity, especially in view of developments in Maharashtra.

Both the seats fell vacant following the resignations of Mohd. Azam Khan and Akhilesh Yadav, both from the Samajwadi Party (SP). According to Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ajay Kumar Shukla, more than 35 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in Azamgarh and Rampur bypolls to decide the fate of 19 candidates.

The two bypolls will also decide the future of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which is desperately trying to make a comeback on to the centre stage of UP politics. Surprisingly, with just five days left for the two by-elections where polling will be held on June 23, neither Akhilesh Yadav nor Mayawati have yet campaigned for their candidates.

Lal Bihari Yadav has been booked under sections 153A and 153B of the IPC. The case was registered after the Bajrang Dal workers complained about the remarks made by the SP leader. It was alleged that the SP MLC made objectionable remarks against Shivling and Lord Shiva in an alleged video.

The party has already announced its support for Kapil Sibal, who is contesting as an independent candidate. Another SP nominee is Javed Ali. By announcing support to Jayant Chaudhary, the Samajwadi Party has made the first move to cement the SP-RLD alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. Jayant is expected to file his nomination papers on Friday.

He was received by senior party leader Shivpal Yadav and Ashu Malik and scores of supporters. His sons were also present on the occasion. From the jail, he went straight to the residence of SP MLA Anup Gupta and later left for Rampur. A heavy posse of policemen was posted outside the Sitapur jail to control the crowds.

On May 11, the Supreme Court had told the Uttar Pradesh government that a pattern was emerging in the case of Samajwadi Party leader -- whenever he gets bail, he is sent to jail in some other matter. The top court directed the state government to file its response on a plea filed by Khan over the delay in hearing of his bail application in a land grabbing case.

The maverick politician is hopping from one camp to another, leaving his friends in alliance parties apprehensive. While Rajbhar continues to swear his loyalty to the Samajwadi Party (SP), he has no qualms about meeting his 'friends' in the BJP. His recent meeting with state minister Daya Shankar Singh sparked off a major controversy but Rajbhar remained unfazed.

Ali told reporters, "Atrocities are being heaped on Muslim leaders in SP, but the party president is maintaining a studied silence. The situation within the party has become stifling." He said that the SP had won 111 seats on the strength of Muslim votes, but Akhilesh had refused to utter a word on action being taken against leaders like Nahid Hasan and Shazil Islam.