Prayagraj, April 20 – Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has affirmed that the opposition 'INDIA' alliance will remain intact for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference in Prayagraj on Sunday, Yadav also launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of functioning like a land mafia by attempting to seize properties through the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

Yadav declared that the PDA—comprising backwards, Dalits, and minorities—will uproot the BJP from power in the 2027 elections. As per agency report, when asked about the future of the 'INDIA' bloc, Yadav stated that the alliance not only exists but will continue going forward.

Criticizing the BJP's policies, Yadav alleged that the party introduced the Waqf amendment to illegitimately take over land wherever it sees opportunity, calling the ruling party a "land mafia organization." He also accused the BJP of seizing public money through demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, while simultaneously undermining reservation rights.

Yadav criticized the state government's handling of the upcoming Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, alleging that the administration misreported casualty figures and financial data from previous events. He claimed that during the stampede in January, drones and CCTV surveillance—meant to ensure safety—either failed or were deliberately shut off. He alleged that the government tried to pressure the families of victims into altering the cause of death.

Responding to a question regarding a recent remark by SP MP Ramji Lal Suman about historical figure Rana Sanga, Yadav maintained that history that promotes divisions or hinders progress should be left in the past.

At the press conference, Yadav also distributed a booklet comprising his suggestions for the 2025 Mahakumbh, previously shared on social media. He further provided journalists with a study report conducted by Harvard University on the 2013 Kumbh Mela held in Prayagraj.

Akhilesh Yadav was in Prayagraj to attend the wedding ceremony of the daughter of Samajwadi Party’s state president, Shyam Lal Pal.

New Delhi, 02 July (HS): Echo of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was also heard in Parliament on Tuesday. In Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "I did not trust EVM yesterday and I do not trust it today either. Even if I win all 80 seats, I will not trust it. The issue of EVM is not over."

He questioned on the NEET leak issue that "Why are the papers getting leaked? The truth is that the government is doing this so that it does not have to give jobs to the youth." It is noteworthy that in the general elections held some time ago, Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party has performed brilliantly in Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow, 4 June (HS): As the count for the Lok Sabha election results 2024 continues, the BJP looks to be experiencing unexpected setbacks in major Hindi heartland states, most notably Uttar Pradesh, which has been critical to its political domination nationwide since 2014.

In Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP is in a dead heat with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, a member of the opposition INDI Alliance.

At 5 p.m., the Samajwadi Party led with 34 seats, the BJP with 36, the Congress with seven, and the RLD with two. The SP and Congress are allies in the INDI bloc, and the BJP and Jayant Chaudhry's RLD formed an alliance prior to the elections.

Akhilesh Yadav's solo campaigning and combined rallies with Rahul Gandhi appear to have worked, whilst the BJP's Ram Mandir pitch following the temple's opening in Ayodhya does not appear to have had an electoral impact. The image contrasts sharply with the Lok Sabha election outcomes of 2014 and 2019, which played a critical role in putting Narendra Modi to power.

2019 AND 2014 GENERAL ELECTION: In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 62 of the state's 80 seats, while the BSP finished second with 10 seats. The Samajwadi Party won five seats, while the Congress received just one. Back then, the SP had formed an alliance with Mayawati's BSP.

The BJP lost some momentum in the 2019 general election, as the opposition parties' total score fell to 16. Despite typical anti-incumbency fears, the saffron party gained 62 seats, with its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) picking up two more. In 2019, the BJP won the most seats?23?in the state's western region, while the SP-BSP combination won only four seats each.

The BSP gained Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha, and Nagina (SC seats) in western Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party won Sambhal, Moradabad, Mainpuri (first held by Mulayam Singh Yadav, then by Dimple Yadav in a bypoll), and Rampur that year.

The center area of the state features major parliamentary seats such as Amethi and Rae Bareli, both of which have traditionally been regarded Congress bastions. In 2019, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi kept her Rae Bareli seat, but her son Rahul Gandhi lost his long-held Amethi seat to union Minister Smriti Irani. The BJP swept the Bundelkhand area in 2019, winning all four Lok Sabha seats: Jhansi, Banda, Hamirpur, and Jalaun-SC. The then-allies Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the Muslim-majority area of western Uttar Pradesh. However, the political dynamics have shifted dramatically this time. During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and its allies won 73 of the state's 80 seats.

2024 STORY SO FAR: In 2019, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combination stood up to the BJP on a few seats in western and eastern Uttar Pradesh, but it had little influence.

With BSP supremo Mayawati electing to go it alone this time, it was up to the SP and Congress to halt the marauding juggernaut of the NDA, which this time had the RLD on its side, as well as a number of caste-based regional parties in the Poorvanchal area.

The BJP, together with its longstanding allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD Party, contested the 2024 elections with new NDA partners Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Om Prakash Rajbhar's Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party.

The election looks to have represented a return to traditional politics, with people more worried about bread and butter concerns, particularly in the Hindi heartland states, where the opposition INDIA coalition was able to galvanize followers around issues of unemployment and price increases. On its own, the Bharatiya Janata Party seemed to be falling short of the majority threshold, with leads in 236 seats despite strong wins in Odisha, Telangana, and Kerala, providing some relief following the surprise losses in the Hindi belt.

Its opponent INDIA group, formed by a shared disdain for the BJP and its ideology, was leading in around 230 seats. In the last elections, the BJP won 303 seats, while the NDA won more than 350.

The Congress party led in 99 seats, compared to 52 in 2019. The performance of its partner, the Samajwadi Party, which was leading in 34 seats in Uttar Pradesh, was even more surprising. It won only five seats in the last elections. The SP-Congress coalition turned the tables on the BJP in its biggest bastion by consolidating anti-BJP votes, restricting the party's margin to 35 seats, down from 62 the previous time. The SP-Congress coalition was ahead in 42 seats.

Lucknow, 4 June (HS): Six hours into the Lok Sabha election count, one thing was clear: the BJP's supremacy in Uttar Pradesh was under threat from the INDI Alliance. At lunchtime, the INDI coalition of Samajwadi Party and Congress was leading 44 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, nine more than the NDA's 35.

The BJP won 71 seats in the 2014 election and 62 seats in 2019. Exit surveys projected a recurrence of the pattern this time, but the results thus far confirm the warning: exit polls don't always get it right. There are still several rounds of counting left, and the image might alter at any time. Here's a look at the primary reasons behind the BJP's massive loss in Uttar Pradesh.

Did Ram Mandir help the BJP? One of the most talked-about issues in this election was the construction of a huge Ram temple in Ayodhya, a BJP electoral promise made in the 1980s that BJP supporters thought would be the deciding factor in the Lok Sabha election outcomes.

However, patterns reveal that Ayodhya has failed to impose itself as a vital component in Faizabad, the constituency of which it is a part. According to Election Commission figures, Awadesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party leads BJP candidate Lallu Singh by more than 4,000 votes. Looking at the neighboring seats, the BJP leads in two of the seven that border Faizabad: Gonda and Kaiserganj. Congress leads in two of the remaining five, Amethi and Barabanki, while SP leads in three, Sultanpur, Ambednagar, and Basti.

This time, "UP Ke Ladke" is clicked. Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi were last seen campaigning together in the run-up to the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections, however when the results came in, the BJP had 302 seats to the Congress-SP alliance's 47. Seven years later, the two leaders, both more mature politically, were seen together again when they formed the INDIA coalition for the main Lok Sabha battle. If present patterns continue, the two may have altered the outcome this time. In Uttar Pradesh, the INDIA group now holds 44 out of 80 seats, nine more than the NDA.

There's no Mayawati factor: The Bahujan Samaj Party, led by Mayawati, is known for surprising people. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BSP did not win any seats in Uttar Pradesh, but they came back strong in the 2019 election, winning ten. It partnered with the Samajwadi Party in the last election, but this time it contested alone, while her old ally joined the Congress.

According to current trends, the BSP appears to be on its way out. According to Election Commission figures, it is not even ahead in any seat. This is not good news for Mayawati. Also noteworthy are trends from the Nagina seat, where budding Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad is dominating the battle and the BSP is in fourth place. Azad's victory and the BSP's significant loss in the SC-reserved seat effectively mean that Mayawati's devoted Dalit support base has sought new leaders.

Lucknow, Feb 8 (IANS) Samajwadi Party MLAs will visit Ram temple in Ayodhya later this month and arrangements for the same will be made by their party.

The SP MLAs will not accompany their counterparts who are scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Sunday, led by Speaker Satish Mahana.

“There is no point in going to Ayodhya for Ram Lalla’s Darshan on Feb 11. We had expressed our desire to attend the Jan 22 ceremony of Ram Lalla, but our party president Akhilesh Yadav was not given the invite in time. We will now urge the leader of opposition (Akhilesh) to make separate arrangements for us to visit the temple,” said senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav.

Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, said: “I have said it earlier as well. I will go with my entire family as a common pilgrim. I will go when I will get a call from Lord Shri Ram.”