Uttar Pradesh

The BSP has reminded SP President Akhilesh Yadav of the incident and said that he should remember June 2, 1995 when a 'Dalit ki beti' (Mayawati herself) was attacked at Lucknow State Guest House during the SP government tenure. The reminder comes at a time when Akhilesh is starting a campaign to win over Dalits and unveiled a statue of late Kanshi Ram on Monday.

According to a notification issued by Chandrashekhar, Special Secretary, Uttar Pradesh government, late on Monday night, the Governor has nominated a total of six persons as MLCs against eight vacancies. The other four names are Ambedkar Mahasabha Chairman Lalji Prasad Nirmal, former BJP Braj region unit head Rajnikant Maheshwari, Chief of BJP's Varanasi district unit Hansraj Vishwakarma, and Ramsurat Rajbhar, who hails from Azamgarh.

While emerging from Parliament House complex after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Maurya told the waiting media persons that the PM has guided him regarding the 2024 general elections. He claimed that the entire atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh is BJP-oriented. Lotus is set to bloom again in the municipal elections in 2023.

The Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in the country, suddenly seems wary of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, mainly because the ruling alliance is armed with over confidence and people-friendly issues, while the Opposition lacks both.

"There will be a game and we will also participate in that. In Uttar Pradesh, we will play the match jointly with (Samajwadi Party chief) Akhilesh Yadav. People from all religions will participate in this game to oust the BJP from power in 2024," she said during her sit-in agitation against the Centre over non-payment of dues, which will continue till 7 p.m. on Thursday.

The UP Police will produce him before a Prayagraj court in connection with a 2007 kidnapping case on Tuesday. Atiq Ahmed's brother Ashraf has also been brought to Naini jail from Bareilly for court hearing. Both the brothers have been kept in separate barracks and will be under constant surveillance by CCTV cameras that will be monitored by the police headquarters in Lucknow.

The BJP is considered far ahead of its opponents in terms of social media and IT reach. This time the BJP is further strengthening its IT team in the state -- a strategy that will not be easy for its opponents to match. About 27,000 IT teams are being prepared in the state. In fact, there are about 27,000 'Shakti Kendras' in BJP.

The new team comprises 18 state vice presidents, 16 secretaries, and seven general secretaries. The team gives prominence to OBC and Dalit leaders with an eye on the next year's Lok Sabha elections. Prominent faces in the new team include Abhijat Mishra, national general secretary of BJP youth wing, former state.

Out of this, 16 lakh jobs are likely to open up in Lucknow alone, a state government spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that efforts are being made to implement investment proposals in cities like Agra, Shahjahanpur, Firozabad, Aligarh and Jhansi as well, along with Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj.

This comes days after Akhilesh Yadav joined opposition leaders in accusing the BJP of using central agencies like ED and CBI to target its political opponents. Pathak said that the SP chief was 'trying to save his party' from a host of corruption charges. He squarely accused Akhilesh of 'patronizing' and 'shielding' scamsters who eventually got indicted by the Lokayukta.