News / Author / Pankaj Jaiswal

Pankaj Jaiswal

Pankaj Jaiswal is Chief of Bureau, Uttar Pradesh and covers politics. His continued interest in rural, distress, and development journalism, fetched him a handful of prestigious awards and fellowships. Pankaj is a photo-journalist too and tweets at @augustus29lotus

Articles by Pankaj Jaiswal

Ahead of U. P. bypolls, Yogi, Akhilesh fire fresh salvos as war of words escalates

The latest bout of barbs took place Thursday. While Yogi Adityanath addressed an event in Ayodhya, Akhilesh expressed his views at a press conference around the same time in Lucknow.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (FILE PHOTOS)

Lucknow

Published on Sep 19, 2024 09:38 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Nazul land bill against public and party’s interest: U.P. BJP chief

Passed by the state assembly on Wednesday, the bill was referred to a select committee in the U.P. Legislative Council on Thursday amid a political controversy.

UP BJP Chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary (HT FILE)

Lucknow

Updated on Aug 03, 2024 05:15 AM IST

ByBrajendra K Parashar Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Unlikely victory that jolted BJP’s Hindutva push

Akhilesh Yadav's candidate Awadhesh Prasad, backed by Dalit votes, pulled off a shock victory in Faizabad against BJP, shifting UP politics.

Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad constituency Awadhesh Prasad at the Parliament House complex during the first session of 18th Lok Sabha, in New Delhi, Tuesday, June 25. (PTI)

India News

Updated on Jul 16, 2024 06:24 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, New Delhi

Will Samajwadi Party field its Faizabad winner’s son in Uttar Pradesh assembly bypoll?

The Milkipur reserved assembly seat fell vacant after Awadhesh Prasad, who contested his first parliamentary general election, resigned and decided to retain the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, a general one, less than five months after the grand pran pratishtha of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Samajwadi Party’s Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad. (FILE PHOTO)

Lucknow

Updated on Jun 28, 2024 08:14 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Hry, Maha polls likely to be test of SP-Cong alliance dharma

After the 2024 LS poll results in U.P, Congress wants SP to share seats in U.P. assembly bypolls. SP, too, wants Cong to show “large-heartedness” in Maharashtra and Haryana

The polls for the 90-member Haryana assembly, the 228-member Maharasthra Assembly, besides the UP bypolls will show the roadmap for the SP-Congress alliance within the INDIA bloc. (File Photo)

Other Cities

Updated on Jun 23, 2024 08:26 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

SP, Cong seat-sharing likely to continue in U.P. assembly bypolls

The alliance will continue. Will be in play in the forthcoming bypolls also. And there will be seat-sharing discussions, said U.P. Congress president Ajay Rai

INDIA bloc partners the SP and the Cong jointly won 43 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. (For Representation)

Lucknow

Updated on Jun 14, 2024 05:30 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

SP to seek membership cancellation of rebel MLAs who cross-voted in RS polls

A total of seven SP MLAs—Manoj Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Pooja Pal, Vinod Chaturvedi, Ashutosh Verma and Abhay Singh—had cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls held in February

Rebel SP MLAs, including Manoj Pandey (in cap), with UP deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and minister Dayashankar Singh during polling for the Rajya Sabha polls in Lucknow. (HT file)

Lucknow

Updated on Jun 07, 2024 08:49 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Akhilesh Yadav man of the moment, SP single-largest party in UP, 3rd in country

Among all the political parties in the country, Samajwadi Party took the biggest leap with a seven-fold increase from its five-seat Uttar Pradesh tally in 2019

A Samajwadi Party supporter carries portraits of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. (AP PHOTO)

Lucknow

Updated on Jun 05, 2024 06:25 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

2024 LS polls: SP deals a blow to Union MoS Teni in Lakhimpur Kheri

Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni loses Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat to SP candidate Utkarsh Verma Madhur by 33,323 votes amid controversy over 2021 violence.

Madhur polled 5,55,277 votes while Teni, who won the seat in 2014 and 2019, secured 5,21,954 votes. (For Representation)

Lucknow

Updated on Jun 05, 2024 05:02 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal/Deokant Pandey, Lucknow/lakhimpur Kheri

Samajwadi Party registers best-ever performance in Lok Sabha elections

The SP, whose previous best performance was in 2004 (35 seats), has emerged as the single-largest party in the most populous state and the third-largest nationally

A Samajwadi Party supporter in Lucknow on Tuesday. (AP)

India News

Published on Jun 04, 2024 08:23 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni faces tough contest in Kheri, SP has a lead

The Samajwadi Party had repeatedly attacked Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni for the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which his son is accused.

Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni (FILE PHOTO)

Lucknow

Updated on Jun 04, 2024 12:53 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Riding on Modi show of strength in Kashi, BJP seeks consolidation in Purvanchal

The party expects voters to go its way in Varanasi and nearby seats of Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Ballia, Robertsganj, Allahabad, Lalganj, Ghosi, Salempur, Machlishahr and Mirzapur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union home minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and BJP national president JP Nadda leaves after filing his nomination for Lok Sabha elections, in Varanasi, Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Lucknow

Published on May 14, 2024 09:52 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Sudhir Kumar

Kashi soaked in festivity as PM holds mega road show

The road show highlighted the achievements of the central government over the past decade; Modi’s arrival was marked by the echo of conches, shehnai tunes, rhythmic beats of the drums and the chanting of mantras

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UP CM Yogi Adityanath during a road show in Varanasi on Monday. (HT Photo)

Lucknow

Updated on May 14, 2024 07:06 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Sudhir Kumar

Modi to file nomination today, holds roadshow

PM Modi held a six-km roadshow in Varanasi before filing his nomination papers, highlighting his development work and receiving support from BJP leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Varanasi on Monday. (PTI)

India News

Updated on May 14, 2024 06:14 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi

SP fields sitting BJP MP against Anupriya Patel

With this change, the contest for the Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat becomes more interesting, as it involves two MPs. Simultaneously, the SP has fielded a former BJP MP, Chotelal Kharwar, for the Robertsganj Lok Sabha seat.

Lucknow

Published on May 12, 2024 10:31 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

BJP’s 400+ slogan a realistic one, INDIA bloc’s X-ray desire will lead to recession: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeks third win from Lucknow, confident in BJP's "400 paar" target for 2024. Criticizes Opposition's regressive ideas and emphasizes on Yogi factor in U.P.

Lucknow

Updated on May 07, 2024 04:02 PM IST

ByPranshu Mishra, Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Restive opposition camp breathes easy with Rahul Gandhi’s Rae Bareli candidature

With this, the Congress and the SP have named their candidates on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, of which the SP is contesting on 63 and the Congress on 17

Rahul Gandhi with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh last month. (Ajay Aggarwal/ HT Photo)

Lucknow

Updated on May 03, 2024 04:22 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Election in Pincodes: In cradle of Yadav politics, battle for legacy and future

Mainpuri, a stronghold of the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, faces a crucial election without him.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s under-construction memorial in Safai.

India News

Updated on May 02, 2024 05:19 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Mainpuri

SP names Tej Pratap as its Kannauj pick, rests speculations on Akhilesh

SP names Tej Pratap Singh Yadav as candidate from Kannauj, ending speculations of Akhilesh contesting 2024 polls. Five Yadav family members contesting Lok Sabha polls.

Lucknow

Updated on Apr 23, 2024 08:18 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Caste census like X-Ray, will get it done if voted to power: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader along with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was addressing INDIA bloc’s first joint rally in U.P.’s Amroha on April 20

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav at a joint rally in UP’s Amroha on April 20. (HT photo)

Lucknow

Updated on Apr 21, 2024 03:37 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

A dilemma or strategy? Akhilesh maintains suspense over Kannauj

Kannauj is the seat from where the SP chief, Akhilesh Yadav, started his political career in 2002 after his father and SP patriarch, Mulayam, won this constituency for the first time in 1999.

Lucknow

Updated on Apr 19, 2024 06:32 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

BJP, SP in a war of words over contrasting perceptions on Mukhtar

Akhilesh visited Mukhtar Ansari’s ancestral house in Mohammadabad town of Ghazipur district on Sunday afternoon and spent over an hour there.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav meets family members of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari at the latter's residence, in Ghazipur, Sunday (PTI)

Lucknow

Updated on Apr 08, 2024 06:40 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Will it be another son-rise in SP this LS poll in Uttar Pradesh?

Party national general secretary Shivpal Yadav drops hints at the fielding of his son Aditya from Buduan from where the former is current party candidate

Senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav’s son Aditya Yadav. (Sourced)

Lucknow

Updated on Apr 03, 2024 05:58 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Samajwadi Party Rampur-Moradabad drama sows seeds of Azam Khan-Akhilesh Yadav rift?

It seems the seeds of the present discord were sown soon after Akhilesh Yadav met senior leader Azam Khan in Sitapur jail on March 22.

Akhilesh Yadav has been under fire for not championing the jailed Azam Khan’s cause with the expected zeal. (FILE PHOTO)

Lucknow

Updated on Mar 29, 2024 06:38 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

In NDA vs INDIA contest, four pockets of likely resistance in Uttar Pradesh’s saffron pollscape

The BJP will defend 66 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party three (Mainpuri, Moradabad, and Sambhal)

Since the party’s inception in 1992, the SP held sway in the Mainpuri, Firozabad, Etawah and Kannauj belt, collectively known as Yadavland . (FILE PHOTO)

Lucknow

Updated on Mar 17, 2024 05:26 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Rahul aur Akhilesh ki khaatir...SP, Cong strike musical note

With 17 and 63 LS seats for the Congress and SP in UP, the parties have initiated coordinated efforts to consolidate each other while also launching a joint campaign song

The video version of the song has clips from the joint show that Akhilesh and Rahul put up in Agra on February 25 when the former joined Rahul’s Nyay Yatra in Taj City; more campaign songs are in the works (File Photo)

Lucknow

Updated on Mar 13, 2024 09:03 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Rebels play spoilsport for SP, seven cross-vote, one abstains

A total of seven SP MLAs cross-voted for the BJP. These MLAs are Manoj Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Pooja Pal, Vinod Chaturvedi, Ashutosh Maurya and Abhay Singh.

Samajwadi party MLAs Manoj Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh and Abhay Singh, along with UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and minister Dayashankar Singh (Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times)

Lucknow

Updated on Feb 28, 2024 07:10 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Rajya Sabha polls in U.P.: Pallavi Patel votes for SP, says PDA is her soul

I voted only for the PDA candidate (of SP) as I had said. I am not among those who betray, said the Sirathu MLA in Lucknow

Lucknow

Updated on Feb 28, 2024 05:10 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

RS Polls: A tale of crossover voting, breach of trust and upset

On Monday night, as many as eight MLAs did not turn up for the huddle-and-dinner that Akhilesh hosted at the party’s state headquarters. The absence of the eight SP MLAs, including Pandey and Singh, triggered a certain despondency in the SP camp at the dinner meet.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Alok Ranjan with party MLAs after the polling (HT Photo)

Lucknow

Published on Feb 27, 2024 10:47 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Amidst apparent breach in Samajwadi Party ranks, voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh today

The BJP got another boost with Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) chief and Kunda MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya pledging the backing of his party’s two lawmakers

Preparations under way for the Rajya Sabha election at the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhavan on Monday. (PTI PHOT0)

Lucknow

Updated on Feb 27, 2024 06:14 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

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Pankaj Jaiswal

Pankaj Jaiswal is Chief of Bureau, Uttar Pradesh and covers politics. His continued interest in rural, distress, and development journalism, fetched him a handful of prestigious awards and fellowships. Pankaj is a photo-journalist too and tweets at @augustus29lotus

The latest bout of barbs took place Thursday. While Yogi Adityanath addressed an event in Ayodhya, Akhilesh expressed his views at a press conference around the same time in Lucknow.

Passed by the state assembly on Wednesday, the bill was referred to a select committee in the U.P. Legislative Council on Thursday amid a political controversy.

Akhilesh Yadav's candidate Awadhesh Prasad, backed by Dalit votes, pulled off a shock victory in Faizabad against BJP, shifting UP politics.

The Milkipur reserved assembly seat fell vacant after Awadhesh Prasad, who contested his first parliamentary general election, resigned and decided to retain the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, a general one, less than five months after the grand pran pratishtha of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

After the 2024 LS poll results in U.P, Congress wants SP to share seats in U.P. assembly bypolls. SP, too, wants Cong to show “large-heartedness” in Maharashtra and Haryana

The alliance will continue. Will be in play in the forthcoming bypolls also. And there will be seat-sharing discussions, said U.P. Congress president Ajay Rai

A total of seven SP MLAs—Manoj Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Pooja Pal, Vinod Chaturvedi, Ashutosh Verma and Abhay Singh—had cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls held in February

Among all the political parties in the country, Samajwadi Party took the biggest leap with a seven-fold increase from its five-seat Uttar Pradesh tally in 2019

Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni loses Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat to SP candidate Utkarsh Verma Madhur by 33,323 votes amid controversy over 2021 violence.

The SP, whose previous best performance was in 2004 (35 seats), has emerged as the single-largest party in the most populous state and the third-largest nationally

The Samajwadi Party had repeatedly attacked Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni for the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which his son is accused.

The party expects voters to go its way in Varanasi and nearby seats of Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Ballia, Robertsganj, Allahabad, Lalganj, Ghosi, Salempur, Machlishahr and Mirzapur

The road show highlighted the achievements of the central government over the past decade; Modi’s arrival was marked by the echo of conches, shehnai tunes, rhythmic beats of the drums and the chanting of mantras

PM Modi held a six-km roadshow in Varanasi before filing his nomination papers, highlighting his development work and receiving support from BJP leaders.

With this change, the contest for the Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat becomes more interesting, as it involves two MPs. Simultaneously, the SP has fielded a former BJP MP, Chotelal Kharwar, for the Robertsganj Lok Sabha seat.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeks third win from Lucknow, confident in BJP's "400 paar" target for 2024. Criticizes Opposition's regressive ideas and emphasizes on Yogi factor in U.P.

With this, the Congress and the SP have named their candidates on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, of which the SP is contesting on 63 and the Congress on 17

Mainpuri, a stronghold of the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, faces a crucial election without him.

SP names Tej Pratap Singh Yadav as candidate from Kannauj, ending speculations of Akhilesh contesting 2024 polls. Five Yadav family members contesting Lok Sabha polls.

Congress leader along with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was addressing INDIA bloc’s first joint rally in U.P.’s Amroha on April 20

Kannauj is the seat from where the SP chief, Akhilesh Yadav, started his political career in 2002 after his father and SP patriarch, Mulayam, won this constituency for the first time in 1999.

Akhilesh visited Mukhtar Ansari’s ancestral house in Mohammadabad town of Ghazipur district on Sunday afternoon and spent over an hour there.

Party national general secretary Shivpal Yadav drops hints at the fielding of his son Aditya from Buduan from where the former is current party candidate

It seems the seeds of the present discord were sown soon after Akhilesh Yadav met senior leader Azam Khan in Sitapur jail on March 22.

The BJP will defend 66 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party three (Mainpuri, Moradabad, and Sambhal)

With 17 and 63 LS seats for the Congress and SP in UP, the parties have initiated coordinated efforts to consolidate each other while also launching a joint campaign song

A total of seven SP MLAs cross-voted for the BJP. These MLAs are Manoj Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Pooja Pal, Vinod Chaturvedi, Ashutosh Maurya and Abhay Singh.

I voted only for the PDA candidate (of SP) as I had said. I am not among those who betray, said the Sirathu MLA in Lucknow

On Monday night, as many as eight MLAs did not turn up for the huddle-and-dinner that Akhilesh hosted at the party’s state headquarters. The absence of the eight SP MLAs, including Pandey and Singh, triggered a certain despondency in the SP camp at the dinner meet.

The BJP got another boost with Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) chief and Kunda MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya pledging the backing of his party’s two lawmakers

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