He said, he felt sorry for state BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra and Surya Pratap Shahi who were not considered fit to be UP CM, instead an ‘imported’ outsider like Uma Bharti had been brought in which was a poor reflection on the state leadership of BJP.

Digvijaya said if he was an outsider campaigning in UP like Baba Ramdev says, then so was Uma Bharti and that too as a Chief Ministerial candidate.

He lambasted SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for claiming that he would abolish Value Added Tax (VAT), saying such impractical promises had been made earlier as well, but they do not work.

He also regretted that while Congress was censured by Election Commission on the issue of minority quota, BJP got away scot-free by including Ram Mandir issue in its manifesto.

Digvijaya claimed Congress would not support any party if it got enough seats, instead he expressed confidence that the party would form the government in the state.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/digvijaya-slams-bjp-says-uma-is-imported-mascot/232469-37.html

After examination, it has been found that there was no effort to woo the electorate by offering money and Rs. 51,000 which were seen changing hands were being given for poll management, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Anita Meshram said.

The RLD candidate would mention it in the expenditue register which would also be checked by the expenditure observer, she said adding the Returning Officer’s report in this regard is being sent to the Election Officer.

According to the report, gram pradhan Than Singh was giving the money to the candidate for election management.

A notice was sent to Chowdhury by the EC earlier this week seeking his explanation after he was caught on camera accepting money at Govardhan Assembly constituency.
Besides Chowdhury, a notice was also given to party candiadate from Goverdhan Megh Shyam Singh.

The Assembly constituencies that fall under Mathura will go to vote on February 28.

Chowdhury, a sitting MP from Mathura, is also contesting Assembly polls from Maant seat.

Source:http://zeenews.india.com/state-elections-2012/up/ec-clean-chit-to-jayant-chowdhury_759778.html

“Because of the successful election campaign of the Congress, this action has been taken on the direction of Mayawatiji,” Digvijay Singh told reporters here.

“We will go to the High Court to get the FIR quashed. I also want to clarify that we haven’t received any notice regarding violation of model code of conduct,” he said.

The FIR against Rahul Gandhi was registered yesterday for alleged violation of model code of conduct by Kanpur district authorities which said his road show here had breached the time limit and the route map set by them.

Congress maintained Rahul has not committed any illegality and “appropriate legal proceedings” will be taken in this regard.

District Magistrate Hari Om said the FIR has been filed against Rahul and city Congress chief Mahesh Dikshit who have been booked under Section 188 of IPC for violating prohibitory orders (Section 144) imposed in the city and under Sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way) and 290 (public nuisance).

“The district administration had allocated time till noon and fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi’s road show but he violated it and stretched it beyond permitted time. He also did not stick to the prescribed route for the event,” the DM said.

Source:http://zeenews.india.com

He then passed the cash to his party candidate, who returned the money to him. Chaudhary later passed the cash on to his brother-in-law, who was accompanying him on the campaign trail.

“We have sent a notice to Chaudhary seeking his explanation. He was caught on camera accepting money at Govardhan Assembly constituency in Mogarra area here,” ADM (City) Ram Awatar Raman said.

The Assembly constituencies that fall under Mathura will go to vote on February 28.

Chaudhary, sitting MP from Mathura, is also contesting Assembly polls from Maant seat.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ajit-singhs-son-caught-on-camera-taking-cash/231958-37.html

The polling will be held for 49 constituencies covering 13 districts on Thursday (February 23).

A total of 248 candidates are in fray in the fifth phase. Out of these, 76 (31 percent) have criminal cases pending against them.

Also, almost half – 118 – of the total are crorepatis.
In the fifth phase, the fate of Samajwadi Party’s 48 candidates, Congress’ 14, BJP’s 13 and BSP’s 12 will be sealed.

Source:http://zeenews.india.com/state-elections-2012/up/campaigning-to-end-for-fifth-phase-of-up-polls_759673.html

District Magistrate Hari Om said that an FIR has been filed against Rahul and city Congress chief Mahesh Dikshit who have been booked under Section 188 of IPC for violating prohibitory orders (Section 144) imposed in the city and under Sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way) and 290 (public nuisance).

“The district administration had allocated time till noon and fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi’s road show but Rahul Gandhi violated it and stretched it beyond permitted time. He also did not stick to the prescribed route for the event,” the DM said.

However, state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was part of the road show, denied there was any violation of the model code of conduct and accused the district administration of trying to stop Rahul’s mass contact programme at the behest of the Mayawati government.

“The party has apprised the Election Commission about the action of the district administration,” she said.

Kanpur MP and Union Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal dared the authorities to file an FIR against him. “I had invited Rahul Gandhi for the roadshow. Let the authorities file an FIR against me,” he told reporters.

The DM claimed that the road show organisers had sought permission for a 38-km stretch but they had been informed last night about the conditions. “The district administration had fixed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi’s road show as today is Shivratri and there could be a traffic problem.

“Still they violated the rules and chose to follow the route for which permission had not been granted,” he said, adding, “There could have been a security breach or a clash”.

Joshi, however, countered that the detailed programme of the Congress general secretary, including the route, was handed over to the district administration by the district unit well in advance and was also cleared by the SPG.

“The administration, however, revised the programme last night and sent it to the SPG,” she claimed.

She said that as the people had already been informed about the entire programme, it was not possible to carry out last minute changes.

“During the entire mass contact programme neither Rahul Gandhi addressed a meeting, nor did he take out any procession. Therefore, he has not violated the model conde of conduct,” the state Congress president claimed.

She alleged that the Mayawati government was “nervous and shaken” after the “success” of Rahul’s road show in Lucknow.

The road show began at the Circuit House this morning and crossed through all the five assembly segments here with people standing on both sides of the roads to greet the leader.

Rahul’s road show was, however, shown black flags by youths belonging to some Muslim groups in Baghai area of the Cantonment. They were shouting slogans of ‘Rahul, go back’.

In Muslim-dominated Chunnigang area, people welcomed him by showering flowers while the Congress leader garlanded an Ambedkar statue in Bajaria area.

Kanpur will go to polls in the fifth phase of February 23

Source:http://zeenews.india.com/state-elections-2012/up/fir-filed-against-rahul-for-poll-code-violation_759446.html

“Sensing the response of the people in the election rallies, I can say that my party will perform better than 2007 state elections. Our party is doing better than last elections in 2007, she said, while casting her vote.

Mayawati was accompanied by her party general secretary Satish Misra, widely known as the Dalit party’s Brahmin mascot.

The fourth phase of polling in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh polls is being organised on Sunday. As many as 17.2 million voters are eligible to elect their representatives spread across 56 constituencies in 11 districts, including state capital Lucknow.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bsp-will-do-better-than-last-time-mayawati/231702-37.html

Polling was held in Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Farukkhabad, Kannauj, Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh and CSM Nagar which includes Amethi. A combined electorate of 1.74 crore in this phase would seal the fate of 967 candidates.

While there was brisk polling in CSM Nagar and Rae Bareli, good voter turnout was also recorded in Banda and Chitrakoot infamous for dacoits.

“As per the figures reaching us, an estimated 57.2 per cent votes were polled for 56 seats in 11 districts as against 43.84 per cent in 2007 polls,” Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said.

Result of this phase of the seven-part polling would decide the fate of several stalwarts, including three ministers, 32 sitting MLAs, 12 former ministers, national vice-president of BJP Kalraj Mishra and Congress state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Chief Minister Mayawati was among state leaders who exercised their franchise.

“Polling for the fourth phase covering 11 districts started at 7 AM amidst tight security arrangements and picked up as the day progressed,” an election official said. Polling has been peaceful, he said.

Stakes are high for ruling BSP, Congress, SP and BJP in the no-holds-barred fight for the 403 assembly seats. The fourth phase has 103 candidates with criminal cases pending against them. There are also 139 ‘crorepatis’ in the contest.

Sinha said that polling was held at 18608 polling booths at 12821 centres. A total 3393 of polling booths were identified as sensitive and 3623 as hyper-sensitive, he said.

Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi said in Delhi that the overall polling percentage in the first four phases hovered around 58 per cent.

Referring to today’s polling, he said, “There was no incident of violence, no disruption. There was no incident of booth capturing. Polling was totally peaceful.”
He, however, said there was an incident of poll boycott in a booth in Banda district where voters refused to participate raising developmental issues,” he said.

Source:http://zeenews.india.com/state-elections-2012/up/over-57-turnout-in-4th-phase-of-up-polls_759262.html

Rahul Gandhi is son of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and the late Rajiv Gandhi, a fifth generation leader of the Nehru-Gandhi family; Akhilesh Yadav is son of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav; while Jayant Chaudhary is son of union minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh.

There’s plenty in common. All three are leading their party’s campaign, all are MPs from Uttar Pradesh and are cutting their teeth in this election for power in India’s most populous state currently ruled by Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Congress has tied up with the RLD to take on the BSP, SP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the gruelling polls, spanning 403 assembly seats and being held over seven p hases between Feb 8 and March 3.

Is this a continuation of dynastic politics, a sign of India’s unchanging feudal times or a sign of a resurgent youth willing to give up all to herald change? The opinions are sharp and divided.

Chaudhary, 33, who is mainly campaigning in western Uttar Pradesh where his party is contesting most of its 47 seats, said his role in the campaign should not be seen as sign of generational transition.

“I don’t think it is reflection of generational transition. He (Ajit Singh) is president… Yes, I have a fair deal of responsibility,” Chaudhary, who unlike Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the assembly election from Mathura, told IANS.

Chaudhary, whose grandfather Charan Singh was a former prime minister, has been raising issues of land acquisition, corruption and injustice to farmers. He said the fact that young leaders from political dynasities were playing a role in the election reflected “the sentiment on the ground as well”.

Rahul Gandhi, 41, has a lot riding on the outcome of the election in a state where the Congress has been out of power for almost 22 years and now has only 22 seats in the assembly. He has set a hectic pace for himself, addressing over 100 rallies, and visiting villages, interacting with farmers and Dalit in their homes.

For Akhilesh Yadav, 38, the electoral challenge is equally daunting with the SP seen as the natural gainer of an anti-incumbency sentiment. Relatively low profile, he has been steadfast in his campaign at the grassroots level. Though decisions in the SP are still taken by his father, he is credited with reshaping the party’s thinking by going beyond caste mobilisation.

The BJP was scathing and said it was not relying on dynasty to deliver votes. “Their campaign is dynastic, ours is dynamic,” Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

SP MP Mohan Singh did not agree. “Where is the harm if they are are sons of leaders. They are going through the struggle (to get votes),” Mohan Singh told IANS.

Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed said it was natural for parties to give prominence to young leaders as majority of country’s population comprised people below the age of 35.

Political analysts added that dynastic politics was not specific to a few states and young leaders leading the poll effort was a healthy trend.

According to Nisar-ul-Haq of Jamia Millia University, the youth coming to the forefront of politics would result in greater thrust on performance. “It is a very good trend. Power should come in the hands of the youth… If the youth do not perform who else will,” he said.

“Young leaders are talking of development. They are talking less of traditional issues… There is definite change in political discourse (in these elections),” said IGNOU’s A.S. Narang.

Now to March 6, when the votes will be counted and the effectiveness of the trio will be known to all.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rahul-akhilesh-jayant-young-faces-of-up-dynasties/231431-37.html

At an election rally in Farrukhabad two days back, Steel Minister had invoked the Election Commission’s wrath by saying that reservation for Muslims would be increased if the Congress came to power.

Beni Prasad is the second Congress minister to incur the Election Commission’s wrath.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid, on Friday, who himself had spoken about sub-quota for minorities, defended Beni Prasad Verma’s comments.

“Whatever Beni said was in his capacity as Congress leader and not as a minister. He made his comments on party manifesto, which mentions the reservation issue,” clarified Khurshid.

Elections are fought on the basis of party manifesto and if it is not talked about what else one would say, Khurshid asked.

BJP Chief Nitin Gadkari on Saturday commented and said the BJP does not support reservation on the basis of religion. “I want to assure the Dalits and the backward classes that the BJP will not reduce reservation of the SC, ST and OBC. I promise the SC, ST and OBC that if the BJP is voted to power in Uttar Pradesh, we will ensure that their quota is not reduced even by a per cent.”

Gadkari also attacked the Congress for not taking action against Khurshid and Prasad and said the party is insulting the Election Commission.

Gadkari also blamed the Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Mulayam Singh and the Congress for bringing communal politics in the country.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/muslim-quota-row-ec-notice-to-beni-prasad/231467-37.html