Lucknow, In an apparent move to expand its base beyond the geographical and political boundaries of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party is preparing to contest the Gujarat assembly elections, scheduled to be held later this year. The larger plan is to contest assembly elections in all the four states, where elections are to be held before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to test the political waters in these states and also push for a national status for SP, which is still a state party. Eyeing on a substantial migrant population from Uttar Pradesh settled in the industrial belts of Bharuch and Vapi in south Gujarat apart from Ahmedabad and Vadodra in central Gujarat, SP national president Mulayam Singh Yadav is expected to address a meeting of the party workers in Ahmedabad on June 7. The party is expected to make the final announcement of its plans to contest the assembly elections in Gujarat at this meeting. According to party insiders, a host of senior SP leaders including chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will also hold meetings thereafter. South Gujarat general secretary of Samajwadi Party, Gulab Singh met Mulayam recently in Delhi, and it was decided that SP supremo will visit ...
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New Delhi, Samajwadi Party today said the next President should not be chosen on the basis of whether the person belongs to the backward, minority or scheduled caste community. Asked whether the party would support Pranab Mukherjee's candidature for the President's post, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "I have not heard anybody's name. Nobody has told me about this" "As far as the President is concerned, whether the person is from minority, backward or scheduled caste community, it does not matter," he said when asked if the next President should be from the minority communty. Asked about his meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday, the SP Chief said, "This is not my first meeting with her. It is understood that if two political parties will meet, they will discuss something. "I have met her many times and it is obvious that when two political parties meet, they will discuss politics also. If that can be shared with you, we will definitely do so," he said. After an hour-long meeting at Yadav's residence, Banerjee had said that they would meet again and take a joint decision after further consultations. Yadav had yesterday said ...
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New Delhi, Holding that the President should always be a political person, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today refused to express his opinion on probable candidates for the forthcoming election to the country's highest office. "We cannot discuss presidential election at this moment, When candidates are announced, then you can take my view," he told reporters outside Parliament House. Yadav was asked whom his party will support during the Presidential election. On whether the President should be a person with political background, he said, "The President should always be a political person." Pratibha Patil, the country's first woman President, will demit office on July 25 after completing her five-year term. Samajwadi Party, which is an outside supporters of UPA, had on Tuesday said that it would favour an eminent Muslim candidate for the top post. ...
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New Delhi, Evading posers on who will be the next presidential candidate, former President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam has said patience needs to be exercised on the matter. "Let us wait for sometime, please ask me after some time," Kalam told media here. His remarks come at a time when political parties are holding meetings to arrive a consensus on who will be next president of India. Recently, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shahid Siddiqui Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shahid Siddiqui on Monday welcomed Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's suggestion that the president of the country should be a non-political person, and said his party would definitely back Dr. Kalam if there is a consensus on his name. Siddiqui said Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had proposed the name of Kalam to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002, and added that his party would like to see the renowned nuclear scientist return to Rashtrapati Bhavan. "The name of Dr. Abdul Kalam is also being suggested by many groups and parties. Mulayam Singhji had proposed his name in 2002 to Atalji (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee), and Atalji accepted that and Kalam Sahab ...
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Lucknow, The Samajwadi Party government on Thursday withdrew over 450 homeguards deployed for the security of various memorials and parks built in the city the name of dalit icons by previous chief minister Mayawati. An inquiry has also been ordered to find out under what circumstances the previous regime had decided to demolish the Parikalp Nagar residential colony meant for irrigation department engineers. The colony was demolished for expansion of the eco-garden project which was later merged with Budh Vihar Shanti Upvan. Minister for homeguards and vocational education, Brahma Shankar Tripathi told journalists, "The homeguards deployed for the security of memorials, statues and parks have been withdrawn with immediate effect." He said that these homeguards were deployed in addition to the Suraksha Vahini raised especially for the security of these projects. "As there is a dedicated force for the security of memorials, there is no need to deploy home guards. They can be used for other tasks as per the requirement," he added. The minister further said that the homeguards were posted at dalit memorials for the past three years. "Their deployment was causing unnecessary ...
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Lucknow, Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday joined the chorus with the other political giants in predicting the mid-term Lok Sabha elections. Addressing party workers on the occasion of the birth anniversary of socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Loihya, Mulayam exhorted party leaders to be ready for the mid-term polls which can which can take place within an year, although the term of present lok sabha is till 2014. Mulayam, who has made his son Akhilesh chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and has decided to play a bigger role in the national politics, also said that era of big parties ruling the country is over and coalition politics will play a major role in the coming election as well. So far, Mulayam has been cooperating with the UPA government but giving it outside issue based support but now he has hinted that the Congress cannot take SP's support in parliament for granted. The SP had recently bailed out the Congress led UPA government on the issue of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but at the same time the SP supremo had also made it clear that his party will not join the government at the centre ...
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New Delhi, In a major relief to the government over the fiercely contested National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), three amendment motions moved by the opposition on the anti-terror intelligence hub were defeated in the Lok Sabha Monday. The Trinamool Congress, a bitter critic of the NCTC but part of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), lent tacit support to the government in defeating the amendments after its MPs walked out of the house and didn't participate in the voting. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MPs also walked out. The amendments were moved by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after Prime Manmohan Singh told the house that the proposed anti-terror agency was crucial in "dealing with terrorism and dealing with it effectively". Manmohan Singh was responding to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President Pratibha Patil's address. The prime minister in his speech said consultations with state governments over the NCTC would continue and that the anti-terror agency would not be commissioned till a meeting was held with all chief ministers April 16. Not impressed by Manmohan Singh's assurances, BJP's Sushma Swaraj, ...
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Lucknow, The Samajwadi Party (SP) is not joining the Congress-led central government, party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said Monday. "We are not joining the government," Mulayam Singh said, in response to persistent queries if the SP was planning to join the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. He quickly added that his party was backing the central government from the outside only to prevent "communal forces" from taking power in New Delhi. The SP took office in Uttar Pradesh this month after scoring a thumping ...
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Lucknow, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday took oath to office here, to become at 38, the youngest chief minister of India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh. Along with him, 47 ministers were also sworn into office. They included 9 Cabinet Ministers and 28 Ministers of State. Thursday's swearing-in ceremony tok place nine days after the Samajwadi Party secured an absolute majority in the seven-phased state assembly elections. Akhilesh and his party won 224 of the 403 state assembly seats. Akhilesh had invited top leaders across party lines to the ceremony, including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, CPI-M's Prakash Karat and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Akhilesh Yadav's name was proposed in a key party meet by senior leader Azam Khan, and was supported by the members of the Samajwadi Party at the legislative board meeting. ...
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Lucknow, Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati Tuesday filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha. BSP leader Munqad Ali also filed the nomination along with her. With 80 seats in the 403-member assembly, BSP members can be elected on two seats in the upper house. Elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats from the state will be held on March 30. ...
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Lucknow, A day before the Samajwadi Party parliamentary board finally decides who will be the next UP chief minister, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav stood firm on his decision to hand over the baton to his son, 38-year-old Akhilesh, who is now set to be the state's youngest CM. Disregarding murmurs of protests from party old-timers who are opposed to Akhilesh's leadership, Mulayam convened a late-night meeting at his residence to iron out differences and work out a compromise formula ahead of Saturday's meet. Mulayam is learnt to have conveyed to his brother Shivpal and the party's Muslim face, Azam Khan, that he was in favour of making way for Akhilesh who had galvanized the party and helped it clinch,Radhika Sahasranaman2>romp home with a thumping majority. The two are believed to have initially shown hesitation is accepting Akhilesh's elevation. Mulayam, whose health has been poor, wants Khan to propose Akhilesh's name as leader of the legislative party (and therefore CM) at Saturday's meeting and Shivpal to second it, in the time-tested way of projecting a unified face to the world and conveying that all was well. That would make both Khan and Shivpal stakeholders ...
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Lucknow, Suspense over the chief ministerial candidate from Samajwadi Party still persists though fresh developments and the statements of the party leader suggest that Akhilesh Yadav may be anointed the new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. State president Akhilesh Yadav, who had consistently been in favour of his father and party president Mulayam Singh Yadav becoming the chief minister in the eventuality of an SP government in Uttar Pradesh, today added to the suspense saying a decision in this regard would be taken tomorrow. The central parliamentary board on March 7, had already put the stamp on Mulayam as CM and sources too said that the board had favoured the senior Yadav to become the CM. Party sources, however, indicated that Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav might crown Akhilesh as the next CM when the SP Legislature party meets in Lucknow tomorrow. Talking to reporters here at the state party headquarters, a smiling Akhilesh said only one person could become the CM and the decision would be made tomorrow. His statement added fuel to speculation about the chief ministerial candidate from the SP as all the senior SP leaders including party general secretaries Ram Gopal ...
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Lucknow, The Samajwadi Party, which got an absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh, would choose its next chief minister after Holi, amid demands from the party's parliamentary party members that Akhilesh Yadav be handed over the reins of the state. "The meeting of legislators will be held after Holi to decide the future chief minister's name," party sources said here. The legislators meeting, which was earlier scheduled for this evening was postponed keeping in mind the convenience of newly-elected MLAs due to the festival of Holi. Earlier this morning, a meeting of the SP parliamentary board was held in which majority of members pitched for state president Akhilesh Yadav as the next chief minister. However, the final decision will be taken by party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Majority of MLAs are in favour of making Akhilesh the next CM. At the meeting of legislators, they will put in their views on the issue", party national general secretary Naresh Agarwal told PTI. A number of MLAs, who reached here at the party headquarters met Mulayam Singh Yadav and congratulated him for the victory of the party. "Now, the SP leaders will meet the governor for forming the ...
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New Delhi, Regional political parties would rule two most politically important northern states in India with a young Akhilesh Yadav crafted Samajwadi Party sweeping the polls in Uttar Pradesh pouring cold waters in the dreams of Rahul Gandhi-led Congress, while the Akalis returned to Punjab in alliance with the BJP. Manipur is the only state where Congress won decisively even as it got a wafer thin edge in Uttarakhand and said would try to form a government there with Independents and others. In Goa, Congress was trounced by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-Mahrashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) combine. The results of elections in five states were counted and declared on Tuesday. Congress licked the dust in Uttar Pradesh despite a valiant effort by poster boy Rahul Gandhi, as the Samajwadi Party of electoral politics hardened Mulayam Singh Yadav swept the polls in the heartland state riding on the strategy of young leader and son Akhilesh Yadav. However, indications are that father Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the next chief minister of the state that the party won back. "Everybody wants Netaji [Mulayam]," said son Akhilesh Yadav. Out of the 403 seats, SP ...
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New Delhi, The Samajwadi Party pedalled to a podium finish in the UP polls, but a five-year-old Supreme Court order asking the CBI to inquire into an alleged disproportionate assets case of Mulayam Singh and kin could queer their victory pitch. Going by the popular perception that the CBI heeds to the Centre's command in political cases, the Yadavs could ill-afford not to take note of the spoiler that the Congress-led UPA may prove for them. And the danger is neither far off nor improbable to be brushed aside. For, on October 26, 2007, the CBI had filed an application in the SC seeking permission to proceed ahead with the case on the ground that during the preliminary probe it had stumbled upon prima facie evidence on the alleged DA case of the SP chieftain, his sons, Akhilesh and Prateek, and daughter-in-law Dimple. The CBI's plea that as an independent agency it did not take instructions from the government was filed in the court that was in the midst of hearing a petition filed by Akhilesh seeking review of the SC's March 2007 order passed on a PIL. The SC had ordered the CBI to submit the preliminary probe report to the Centre for further action. When the matter was ...
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New Delhi, The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Akali Dal emerged big winners Tuesday, with one poised to govern Uttar Pradesh and the other breaking a four-decade jinx to retain power in Punjab, leaving national parties BJP and Congress to count their losses despite wins in two of the five states. Two ruling parties ousted, two holding on to power despite the odds and a neck and neck race in a fifth state - it was a confused electoral pastiche as millions of votes were counted for elections held in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. It was the biggest popularity test since the 2009 general elections. Punjab was set to go back to the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine, which survived anti-incumbency to emerge winner with leads in 63 seats against the Congress' 51 in the 117-member house. In Manipur, the Congress overcame the anti-incumbency to sweep the polls. However, the Congress government in Goa prepared to make way for BJP rule. In Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) faced defeat with trends indicating that it would get just 88 of the 403 seats, leaving the SP triumphant with a stunning mandate of 214 seats. The ...
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New Delhi, The Samajwadi Party (SP) getting the maximum seats in the Uttar Pradesh is a cause of worry and if it forms the government, crime will rise in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Tuesday. "As of now, the picture is not very clear. But it is clear that the SP is rising as the number one party in the state. It is a cause of worry as crime will increase in the state and I am worried about safety of people," Uma Bharti, the party state poll campaign chief, told Times Now. The state is headed for a hung verdict with the Bahujan Samaj Party set to be voted out and the Samajwadi Party finishing on top, but without the half-way numbers needed to control the 403-member assembly. ...
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Lucknow, Samajwadi Party has surged ahead in Uttar Pradesh, while the BJP which sprung a surprise by gaining strongly in the initial rounds, seems to have halted as the counting progresses. The ruling BSP, which was doing very poorly intially, has improved its position and is now second after the SP. But the Congress continues to be at the fourth position. According to the trends available for 366 seats, SP is leading in 147, BSP in 92, BJP in 67, Congress in 42. "Counting for all 403 seats has started at 8 am and will continue till all results are announced amidst tight security arrangements," Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said. Congress faces an uphill task in reviving its fortunes in the Mayawati-ruled Uttar Pradesh where its campaign was led from the front by Rahul Gandhi. Congress is contesting 357 seats in the state out of 403 seats where it won 22 seats in the 2007 state polls. The ruling BSP, which won 206 in last elections, in UP has contested all 403 seats, SP 402, BJP 398 and RLD 46. Exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in the state with the SP showed as cornering the major chunk of seats. In 2007 polls, SP had got 97 seats, BJP 50 and ...
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Lucknow, With just a day left for counting of votes, the Samajwadi Party on Monday said it was hopeful of getting a majority in Uttar Pradesh and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will become the next chief minister. "We have a done a lot of hard work to ensure the success of the party and are hopeful of getting majority," SP state president Akhilesh Yadav told reporters here. Asked about the chief ministerial candidate of the party, Akhilesh said that 'netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) was everyone's choice. "The elected legislators will decide, who will be the next CM. I think netaji is everyone's choice and will become the CM," he said. About post-poll alliances, Yadav said that the situation would become clearer after counting. On Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma's comment pitching for support to BSP, Akhilesh Yadav said that it was his view and his party had to decide on it. With exit polls predicting a hung Assembly in Uttar Pradesh, Verma, who quit Samajwadi Party in 2007 following differences with Mulayam Singh Yadav, said he would personally prefer BSP to SP, which he dubbed as a "party of ...
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Lucknow, The Congress party on Sunday denied the possibility of forging an alliance with the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to come to power in Uttar Pradesh where some post-poll surveys of the recently concluded elections have predicted a hung assembly. Ahead of the results, due on Mar 6, political parties were busy discussing various possibilities and indulging in posturing, media reports said, when Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma raised eyebrows as he pitched the possibility of an alliance with the BSP. In most exit poll surveys, Chief Minister Mayawati-led BSP is seen losing out to the Mulayam Singh-led Samajwadi Party (SP), that will emerge as the single largest party, while the Congress-RLD is expected to fall far behind these two. Political analysts said the Congress’ best bet, if at all it sought a stake in the next government, would be to form new alliances, however few expect the party to side with ruling BSP -- a party that it had severely lambasted during election campaigning for misgovernance. However, creating quite a stir Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma, said that the Congress wanted to form a government in the state and was prepared to seek ...
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