India Narrative

  As the voting for the penultimate round of the seven-phase polling in Uttar Pradesh gets underway, Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath contesting from Gorakhpur Urban seat makes his debut in the assembly elections. Yogi Adityanath who has contested Lok Sabha polls from Gorakhpur five times between 1994 to 2014 was elected to the UP Legislative Council after he took over as the Chief Minister of the state in 2017. Even as Yogi Adityanath's victory is being viewed as a foregone conclusion, all eyes are on the performance of the Bahujan Samaj Party in the sixth phase. The majority of the 57 seats going to polls today are dominated by the backwards caste besides Dalits and Muslims. BSP is expected to put up a strong fight in almost all the 10 districts which include Siddharthnagar, Kushinagar, Balrampur, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, Ambedkar Nagar, Deoria, Ballia and Gorakhpur. Of the 19 seats, BSP won in the 2017 assembly elections, five were from this belt. The saffron spin d

With hours to go for the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh, all eyes are on Lakhimpur Kheri, which witnessed the mowing down of the protesting farmers allegedly by Ashish Mishra(Teni), son of the minister of state for Home, Ajay Mishra. The accused son's walking out of the jail after he secured bail had generated a massive political heat in the region.  In 2017, the BJP had won the Lakhimpur seat with a strong margin of over 36000 votes.  Stakes are high for both BJP and Union Minister, Ajay Mishra in this region. For the fourth phase, 624 candidates across 59 assembly constituencies are set to battle it out. Riding on the Modi wave in 2017, BJP had won 51 of 59 assembly seats in 2017. BJP ally, Apna Dal(S) had won one, four went to SP  while two seats were won by Congress and another two by the BSP. Also read:    Third phase of elections--tough for SP and a close fight in Punjab  The State Capital, Lucknow with nine assembly segments will also vote in this phase. Of the nin

With 48 hours to go for the first phase of the crucial elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP in Lucknow released its much-awaited election manifesto named 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra'. Home Minister, Amit Shah, chief minister, Yogi Adityanath were among the BJP  heavyweights who released the manifesto at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan at Gomti Nagar in Lucknow.  While keeping an eye on the farmers, the manifesto did not lose sight of its core Hindutva constituency  The manifesto promised "free electricity" for the farmers, but also offered a 'Ramayan University" at Ayodhya and "stricter Love Jihad Law." The BJP manifesto rolled out 10 years jail term and an Rs one lakh fine for an accused arrested under the "Love Jihad" law.  The party also promised the renovation of the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.  The 13-month long farmers' unrest in states has somewhat disturbed the BJP's applecart in UP.  The party, which won a triumphal majority in 201

The first two of the seven phases of elections in Uttar Pradesh are expected to set the tone. While it's a do- or- die for the  Samajwadi Party, stakes could not have been higher for the BJP. The UP polls will also test the popularity of the BJP and the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi after he announced the repeal of the contentious farm laws. If BJP wins UP it would not only put the party in an invincible position but would decimate whatever Opposition remains at this juncture. But if the results go against the party, it could have a major impact  and reignite the entire Opposition. For BJP, the first two phases (February 10 and 14) are going to be the most challenging as these would cover the regions hit by 13 month-long farmers' agitation. Also read:    BJP begins carpet bombing in western UP Now, with nearly a week to go for the crucial first phase of highly charged Uttar Pradesh elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to make another foray in western Uttar Pradesh, wh

  A political analyst while talking about the exodus of the Gen-next from Congress remarked "ideological fidelity is an oxymoron."  Over a period of time, a host of Congress leaders, who once strutted around flaunting the badge of "secularism" have switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which they once described as "the party which practises politics of hate."  After Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad, another Gandhi loyalist, RPN Singh quit the Congress to join the BJP. Singh's shifting allegiance apparently was being viewed as a personal jolt to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi. Incidentally, RPN Singh's name also featured in the Congress' star campaigner list released 48 hours back.  If RPN's entry came as a major boost for the BJP, it has put a huge question mark on the style of functioning within the Congress. There are whispers and murmurs in the Congress corridor that the clan-Sonia-Rahul-Priyanka was "not letting th

  Infrastructure and connectivity are important parameters that decide the economic weight of any state. Infrastructure initiatives in productive capacity building by bridging connectivity gaps and reducing logistics costs, ensure seamless flow of goods and services. Uttar Pradesh is positioning itself as a multi-modal logistics and transportation hub in northern India. The sheer number of infrastructure projects that have been recently completed and are on-going in the state is evidence of this fact. The diverse nature of infrastructure projects - a combination of road, rail, air and waterway initiatives - makes it more progressive. In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to make Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh a multi-modal logistics and transportation hub, by investing Rs 3,883.80 crores. It is a suburban district in western Uttar Pradesh and a part of the Delhi National Capital Region. It is a part of three infrastructural proposals worth Rs 7,725 crores for the settin