Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Akhilesh Yadav claims his party will beat BJP in Uttar Pradesh election

Akhilesh Yadav claims his party will beat BJP in Uttar Pradesh election

A regional Indian party has claimed it will unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in provincial elections in Uttar Pradesh state, the most crucial test for Modi before a general election in two years.

The Hindu nationalist BJP has maintained it will retain power in the bellwether state, which with more than 200 million people is India's most populous.


"We are going to form the government and our party is going to win a large number of seats," Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the secular Samajwadi or Socialist Party, said on the sidelines of a rally in Varanasi district, which is Modi's parliamentary constituency.

"We have the people's full support, which is very much visible," he said, as a crowd of about 10,000 people, many wearing the party's trademark red cap, chanted "Akhilesh, Akhilesh".

Opinion polls conducted before voting began in the seven-stage election last month had mostly predicted the BJP will return to power in Uttar Pradesh. However, such polls are not always accurate in India and exit polls can only be published after voting is concluded on Monday (7).

Counting in the Uttar Pradesh and four other state elections will begin on Thursday (10).

The results from the state elections, particularly Uttar Pradesh, will be a barometer of the popularity of Modi's BJP, which has been under fire for failing to deal with a wave of pandemic deaths last year and for a sluggish economy.

Also at stake is the future of current Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a robe-wearing Hindu monk who is seen as a possible successor to Modi.

A senior Samajwadi Party member, who did not want to be named, said Yadav's confidence of winning was based on surveys conducted by the party.

The BJP has said it will retain Uttar Pradesh because of policies like giving free staples to the poor during the Covid-19 crisis, as well as its popularity among the majority Hindus.

"Akhilesh Yadav is building a castle in the air," said BJP spokesperson Sameer Kumar Singh. "His claim of winning the election is baseless. People are again going to vote for the BJP."

'Improved law and order condition'

Praveen Rai, a political analyst with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, said the crowds the Samajwadi Party was drawing did not necessarily indicate it would win.

"There is a pro-incumbency (wave) in the state and one major reason behind that is the improved condition of law and order," he said. "People from every caste and religion want that."

But other analysts have said Samajwadi has put together a strong coalition of smaller groups that command a following in various parts of the state and among separate communities, something that the BJP itself did at the last state election in 2017 when it won 312 of the 403 seats.

Rajani Ranjan Jha, a retired professor of social sciences at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, said it was difficult to predict a winner because there was no apparent wave in favour of the BJP like at the last election.

"Akhilesh Yadav is definitely in a strong position because of a bit of anti-incumbency against the Yogi government and his strong performance in the western region of the state," he said.

One of the parties in Yadav's coalition is the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a farmers' party in western Uttar Pradesh. The party was among those in the year-long farmers' protest that forced Modi to repeal three farm reform laws in November, a rare climbdown by the combative leader that some analysts have said will affect his party's popularity.

"We are confident of winning because the people of the state have gone through a lot of suffering," said RLD president Jayant Chaudhary.

(Reuters)

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less