Russia begins ‘invasion of Ukraine’

BATTLE FOR UP

R.P.N Singh mocks Congress's 'Ladki hun' campaign

Kushinagar (UP), Feb 24: Former union minister R.P.N. Singh, who recently crossed over to the BJP, has said that the 'Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon' campaign initiated by the Congress will have no impact on the Assembly polls. He said that a 'poster girl' from that campaign had herself switched to the BJP. In the name of women, tickets have been given to wives of Congress leaders, he alleged. Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has breached caste barriers with development schemes guided by the inclusive mantra of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas". The Congress now does not exist, as a party or as an ideology, he told the reporters. Singh was elected as an MLA from Padrauna for three consecutive terms beginning in 1996. He is the son of former union minister C.P.N Singh. Replying to a question, Singh said: "I have clearly seen that Dalits, backwards, most backward and upper caste people have broken caste barriers after being motivated by the schemes, working style and efforts towards nation building of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." He dismissed the suggestion that the BJP inducted him to compensate for the loss of support it suffered among the backward castes after Swami Prasad Maurya joined the SP. R.P.N. Singh is out of the electoral race but is campaigning for BJP candidates in his home district Kushinagar. Polling in Kushinagar will be held in the sixth phase of the UP Assembly elections on March 3.

BJP MLA does sit-ups on stage, asks people to forgive him

Varanasi, Feb 24: Video clips of a BJP MLA doing sit-ups on stage and begging forgiveness is an unusual sight. BJP MLA from Robertsganj, Bhupesh Chaubey, however, took everyone by surprise at an election rally when he stood on the chair, held his ears and did sit-up begging forgiveness for any mistakes that he might have made during the last five-years. Former health minister of Jharkhand and MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi was also present at the dais when the incident took place. Shahi was in Robertsganj to campaign for the BJP MLA. A first time MLA, Chaubey had defeated Avinash Kushwaha of Samajwadi Party in the 2017 Assembly election by a margin of over 40,000 votes. The BJP fielded him again in this Brahmin dominated constituency. There was resentment among the party workers as well as people for his lack of performance in the past five years. People in his constituency complained that the MLA is not accessible on phone and neither does he meet them. The matter was also raised during

the inauguration of his election office. Perhaps, sensing the people's annoyance, he took this stand and started doing sit-ups, holding ears, on the stage while the other leaders were addressing the rally. Begging for an apology in public, he sought the blessing of people for his victory again. Shahi also came to his defence and described him as better than other contestants. The SP has again fielded former MLA Avinash Kushwaha, while the BSP has fielded a Brahmin candidate Avinash Shukla at this seat.

In Ayodhya, it is 'Ram' over 'kaam'

Ayodhya, Feb 24: With Ayodhya set to face its first election after the construction of Ram temple began, a high voltage campaign is being witnessed in the holy city which is revolving around 'ram' rather than 'kaam (work)'. The BJP has gone into an overdrive to assert the fact that it is responsible for the Ram temple construction while the opposition is driving home the point that the temple is being built on Supreme Court orders. Top BJP leaders who have campaigned in Ayodhya are underlining the fact that the temple construction was possible only because of the Modi government. They claim to have ushered in an era of 'Ram Rajya' and cite the 'Deepotsav' programme as an example. BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, is a local businessman. He is seeking re-election in the name of 'Ram'. "For five years, he was never there for us and now he wants us to vote for him because of Ram," says Ramnesh Tripathi, another local businessman. Gupta hopes to ride high on the wave of Ram and is claiming credit for temple construction. He is confident of his victory and says that the holy city is witnessing world class development which will put it on the global map. Some of his over-enthusiastic

supporters even started distributing packets of 'Ram Raj' - soil from the temple construction site-but were later stopped. Since 1991, the BJP has lost Ayodhya Sadar seat only once in 2012 when Tej Narain Pandey of Samajwadi Party had defeated its candidate, Lallu Singh. Pandey is again the SP candidate from here and his narrative revolves around 'kaam' rather than 'Ram'. "Ram belongs to everyone and is not the copyright of the BJP. The way for the construction of the temple was cleared by the Supreme Court and not the BJP government. I am banking on the work done by the Akhilesh government and no one can deny it," says Pandey. Pandey, a former student leader, is trying to cash in on the local resentment prevailing due to the proposed demolition of hundreds of shops and houses for road widening. He is also banking on the support of 62,000 Brahmin voters and 37,000 Yadav voters to give him a head start. The BSP has fielded Ravi Maurya and the Congress candidate is Rita Maurya. Both are first timers in the election and hope to get the advantage of their party votes. Ayodhya goes to polls on March 3.

1,137 cases of poll violence in 4 phases

Lucknow, Feb 25 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh Police have registered as many as 1,137 cases of violation of model code of conduct in the first four phases of elections. Senior police officers at the DGP headquarters said that not a single incident of violence or clash has been reported during the elections so far. This has been possible due to advance preparedness of police and heavy deployment of central paramilitary forces. Meerut tops the list among the districts with 51 cases of poll code violation followed by 45 in Jhansi. Among commissionerates, Lucknow topped with 26 cases followed by 20 in Kanpur. Additional Director General (ADG), law and order, Prashant Kumar said that all 1,137 cases will be probed properly as per the evidence. He also attributed the peaceful conduct in the fourth phase to a month-long advance planning of mapping all communally sensitive and expenditure sensitive constituencies, for maintaining vigilance beforehand. "Several rounds of briefings were given to all district police chiefs before the start of elections," he said. "We had also ensured that all the troublemakers, those named in cases of crime, having previous history of electoral offences sign a personal bond or are issued notice and are put behind the bars if the threat persists," the ADG said. Special arrangements were made for each phase and central armed paramilitary forces were deployed accordingly. "We also used drones as per the guidelines of the Election Commission," he said. The Uttar Pradesh Police had also started a 'digital monitoring cell' since campaigning had gone digital. The cell remains functional round-the-clock. Lucknow, Feb 25 (IANS): The fifth phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh will see the stakes getting higher for all major political parties. As the electoral battle moves towards Purvanchal (eastern UP), barbs are flying fast and thick and political leaders are sharpening their attacks against each other. The fifth phase will cover 61 Assembly constituencies from 12 districts. The districts going to polls in this phase include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambhi, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Shravasti and Gonda. This phase is crucial for the BJP and Congress. In 2017, the BJP had won 47 seats while its ally Apna Dal won 3 in this region. Samajwadi Party got 5, Bahujan Samaj Party got 3, Congress 2 and one independent candidate also won. It includes Ayodhya on which the BJP has built its political innings ever since its inception. The BJP is again trying to cash in on the Ram temple construction which began last year. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in one of his rallies in Ayodhya, said, "Those who fired at kar sevaks could have never allowed temple construction. It is the BJP which made it possible." For the Congress, this phase includes Amethi and Rae Bareli where the party needs to revive itself if it wishes to survive in the state. The party had two legislators in Rae Bareli and both have crossed over to the BJP. The Congress is keen to retain a toehold in Amethi and Rae Bareli that were once known as its bastions. The political climate has changed for all parties in this phase. The BJP is facing anti-incumbency while the BSP hopes to perform well and emerge as a king maker with this phase. The Samajwadi Party is determined to improve its 2017 performance and is pushing itself towards its goal. The Avadh and Purvanchal belt have been a strong turf of the BJP since 2017. The 2019 Lok Sabha results just reinforced the belief in the party when it won comprehensively in Uttar Pradesh despite the two strong caste parties, SP and BSP, coming together. However, if the farm laws angered farmers in west UP, it is the stray cattle issue that is troubling the BJP in the fifth phase. The destruction of crops by stray cattle has become a major issue in the elections and the opposition parties are creating a hype over it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his rally in Bahraich, said that the party will come out with a new scheme to deal with the issue. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has also promised Rs 900 to those who keep the cows. SP president Akhilesh Yadav has said that the party, if it comes to power, will give compensation of Rs 5 lakh to those who lost their lives while protecting their fields. Akhilesh Yadav has stitched together an alliance with smaller caste-based parties in this region and hopes that the consolidation of OBCs will help him gain in this phase. Mayawati might not have been active in the early stages of campaigning, the party still holds the capability to play spoiler in many seats. The BSP in many seats has turned the contest into a triangular fight by fielding Muslim candidates. It has fielded a total of 88 Muslim candidates this time.

OBC leadership on test in next phases of UP polls

Lucknow, Feb 25: As the elections in Uttar Pradesh move towards the last three phases, it is now the prestige of OBC leaders in all parties that is at stake. Almost all parties have put OBC leaders at the helm of their campaigns and the last three phases will test their popularity. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has been playing an important role in the BJP campaign. He has been vigorously campaigning for his party candidates, flitting from one constituency to another. Maurya is contesting from his Sirathu seat in Kaushambi district and is pitted against Pallavi Patel of Samajwadi Party. Pallavi is a first-time contestant but is confident that the caste arithmetic of the constituency will take her to the victory stand. Though Keshav Maurya has got Anupriya Patel - who is Pallavi Patel's estranged sister - to campaign against her but Maurya is facing voters' resentment in his constituency. "Since he became deputy chief minister and a member of the Vidhan Parishad, he has not looked after the constituency. Now that he is contesting, he is back seeking votes," said Arvind Patel, a local resident. Another prominent leader whose fate depends on the coming phases is Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president and MLA Om Prakash Rajbhar. Rajbhar is contesting from Zahoorabad constituency in Ghazipur. The BJP has pitted another Rajbhar - Kalicharan Rajbhar - who will cut into the SBSP president's base vote of the community. However, Rajbhar is facing the biggest challenge from BSP that has fielded a rebel SP candidate Shadab Fatima. A former MLA, Shadab Fatima, is popular in the constituency and is confident of wresting the seat this time. Om Prakash Rajbhar prides himself as the architect of the SP-led alliance since he was among the first to break ties with the BJP in UP. His claims of defeating the BJP in UP may come a cropper if he does not do well on his seat. Union minister Anupriya Patel also faces a test in the next phases of election for her party Apna Dal which has, so far, seen a high success rate in election. The Apna Dal is a Kurmi-centric party that was funded by Dr Sonelal Patel, Anupriya's father. Though Anupriya is not contesting the election, her party candidates are reportedly feeling the heat of anti-incumbency in their constituencies. Anupriya is campaigning vigorously for her party and hopes to overcome the hurdles to maintain her success rate which will also decide her future. For Sanjay Nishad, president of the Nishad Party, these elections are a make-or-break affair. He is testing waters in the election for his party in alliance with the BJP and his performance will decided the future of his relationship with the party. The Nishad community has been demanding reservation in the scheduled caste category and Sanjay Nishad, despite promises, has failed to convince the BJP to announce the same. If his party fares poorly in the elections, it could mean rough weather for his relationship with the BJP in the long term. For the former BJP minister Swami Prasad Maurya, his election this time, is crucial for his political future. Maurya, who quit the BJP to join SP last month, has shifted to a new constituency Fazilnagar in Kushinagar district. He is contesting on a SP ticket while the BJP has fielded Surendra Kushwaha. Maurya is facing a tough challenge from the BJP that is keen to defeat Maurya and avenge his 'betrayal'. Another OBC leader in the fray is Krishna Patel, who heads the breakaway faction of the Apna Dal. She is contesting from Pratapgarh as an alliance candidate of Samajwadi Party and her faction of Apna Dal(K). Anupriya Patel has decided not to let her party contest against her estranged mother which makes it easier for Krishna Patel since the BJP had given the seat to Anupriya Patel. However, whether Krishna Patel can make an impact on adjoining seats, remains to be seen. The OBC leadership in the Congress will also be put to test in the coming phases with UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu contesting the Tamkuhiraj Assembly seat in Kushinagar. Lallu is facing challenge from SP and BJP and a faction within his own party. The result of his election will also decide his future as UPCC president in the Congress.