Apurva

BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav Sunday described the BJP and the Congress as two sides of the same coin — and cautioned voters, “particularly Muslims”, against splitting their votes in the eight western UP seats.

Released on February 12, almost two months before the biopic PM Narendra Modi whose release has been delayed over allegations of violation of the Model Code of Conduct, Main Hoon Chowkidar has over 4 million views on YouTube.

The rally is aimed at sending a message to voters in eight western UP constituencies — Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Baghpat, Kairana, Saharanpur, Meerut, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar — which go to the polls in the first phase on April 11.

To demonstrate the gathbandhan’s unity, leaders of the three parties have made it mandatory that two workers from each party will travel in any vehicle on the campaign trail in western Uttar Pradesh that goes to polls in the first phase on April 11.

The Indian Express travels through Western UP, whose eight seats are among the first off the block, voting on April 11 in an election that will be determined by fissures new and old — the new SP-BSP gathbandhan versus the winning run of the BJP, the familiar Cong factor and the untested stray cattle element, the fathers who have made up their minds versus the sons who will go by their heart

China has refused to lift its “technical hold” on a proposal to declare Masood Azhar a global terrorist under UNSC Resolution 1267, which prescribes a sanctions regime against designated terrorists and terrorist groups.

The high share has meant independents and parties other than the Congress and BJP have never won fewer than 14 seats in the 200-member House.

Disgruntled leaders from both parties are contesting as Independents in more than a third of the 200 seats across Rajasthan and the Congress and BJP want to leave little to chance.

Pilot, who addressed a string of corner meetings across Tonk, said that the results of polls in five “important” states will gauge the mood of voters.

With the BSP contesting 197 of the state’s 200 seats, Congress sources admit that a victory is not possible without the support of Dalits.

With just two days left before campaigning ends, none of the frontrunners brings up the lynching directly. Of the nine candidates in Behror, eight are Yadavs and the community accounts for more than 70 per cent of the 2.2 lakh electorate.

The Indian Express reporters fan out across the country to mark milestones in the Mahatma’s journey. To bring stories of the footsoldiers of Swachh Bharat, whose job it is to wipe, mop and dust where the Mahatma once walked.

From Saharanpur to Shamli, and Baghpat to Bulandshahr, FIR after FIR filed in Uttar Pradesh’s police encounters show identical words, reveal a telling story.

Congress leader D K Shivakumar, who spearheaded the effort to sequester MLAs in resorts and hotels, said at least 40 MLAs admitted to receiving calls.

DK Shivakumar indicated that though the future of the alliance in Karnataka was fraught with challenges, both parties would work together to keep the BJP at bay, with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

We could not get a clear mandate for the Congress. It was Rahul Gandhi who triggered this entire operation. He gave a direction: plan A, B and C: DK Shivakumar.

The Congress hopes to stem the BJP charge across India and build momentum before the crucial Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, by keeping Karnataka, while the JD(S) hopes power will help it rebuild the party in Karnataka and perhaps even become a larger force in the Lok Sabha in 2019.

While the Congress was all smiles by the afternoon of Saturday, behind it lay many anxious moments, particularly over “missing” legislators.

There were victory signs and cheers in the Congress and JD(S) camps after the Supreme Court ordered the floor test. But the smiles masked the worry and nervousness in the two camps in the run-up to the vote.

Anand Singh of Vijayanagara in Bellary remained incommunicado. While sources in the Congress claimed they were in touch with his family, Singh, who runs a mining business and was arrested by the CBI, was not seen with the party through Thursday. 

JD(S) spokesperson Kunwar Danish Ali said: “Three flights were to arrive in Bengaluru from Hyderabad to take Congress and JD(S) MLAs to Kochi. However, the planes were denied permission. No reason was given. The MLAs will now travel aboard buses to Kochi.”

Karnataka results: Congress leaders alleged that the BJP had “engineered” the defection of three Congress and four JD(S) MLAs, who resigned as legislators forcing bypolls, and subsequently joined the BJP.

Karnataka Assembly Elections: After leading the Congress charge across Karnataka over the last few weeks, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah left Chamundeshwari — one of the two constituencies he is contesting — for the very end.

Karnataka Assembly Elections: The stakes were high. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah vacated this seat for his son, Yathindra, and Varuna was a keenly watched seat. Until late April, when Yeddyurappa announced his son would not contest.