SP on brink of split as Akhilesh sacks Shivpal; Ramgopal expelled

October 24, 2016

Lucknow, Oct 23: Ruling Samajwadi Party appeared to be headed for a split today as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his party supremo and father Mulayam Singh were engaged in an open face-off, sacking each other's loyalists Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav.

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While Akhilesh sacked Shivpal, his uncle and party's state unit chief, along with three other "pro-Amar Singh" ministers from his Cabinet, his father hit back by dismissing Ramgopal, pro-CM cousin and SP's national general secretary, from the party for six years.

The fast-paced developments unfolded this morning when Akhilesh held a meeting of party legislators, a day ahead of a mega meeting of party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and ministers called by Mulayam where some more tough decisions were likely to be taken.

After the meeting, the Chief Minister recommended to Governor Ram Naik that Shivpal, Narad Rai and Om Prakash Singh (all Cabinet ministers) and Sayeda Shadab Fatima (MoS - Independent charge) be sacked from his ministry. This was accepted immediately.

While the meeting was underway, hundreds of Akhilesh's supporters collected outside his residence, raising slogans in his favour.

Significantly, before Akhilesh announced the sacking of Shivpal and three other ministers, Ramgopal issued a letter written to party workers, expressing support to the Chief Minister and warning those opposing him.

"Those who oppose Akhilesh won't be able to show their faces in the legislative assembly. Where Akhilesh is, victory follows," he said in the letter.

After his sacking, Shivpal met Mulayam at his residence, which is just nearby that of the CM's bungalow.

Hours later, he announced that the SP chief had expelled Ramgopal from the party for six years.

Shivpal told mediapersons that Ramgopal was colluding with BJP and had thrice met a senior leader of the saffron party to save himself and his son from a CBI probe in connection with alleged involvement in the Yadav Singh Noida scam probe.

He said he was not worried about being dropped from the government and declared that the state Assembly elections would be fought under leadership of Mulayam.

Launching a scathing attack on Ramgopal, Shivpal said he was tarnishing the image of SP by dabbling in corruption, colluding with BJP and weakening Mulayam's leadership.

"On Mulayam's directive, Ramgopal is being stripped of his posts of party spokesman and national general secretary and is being expelled from the party for six years," Shivpal said, giving rise to intense speculation about an imminent split.

Party legislators who met at the residence of the Chief Minister today were said to be in a belligerent mood, opposing any action that could sideline Akhilesh in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

The tenor of the delegates was to crack the whip on supporters of Amar Singh, whose induction into the party two months ago had triggered a similar hullabaloo, according to party sources.

The developments came a day after Akhilesh skipped an important strategy meeting of SP district and city unit presidents called by Shivpal. The CM instead separately met the delegates later at his official residence.

SP old-timers Beni Prasad Verma and Reoti Raman Singh tried to mediate a thaw to the ongoing crisis, but their efforts did not yield any positive result.

The tussle in the party began last month when Mulayam replaced 43-year-old Akhilesh with his 61-year-old uncle Shivpal to the post of UP party chief, and also expelled several youth leaders seen as close to Akhilesh.

Shivpal's sacking came a day after a close aide of Akhilesh Yadav, MLC Udayveer Singh was expelled from the Samajwadi Party. Udayveer was sacked a few days after he shot off a stinging letter to Mulayam accusing his second wife of hatching a conspiracy against the Chief Minister.

The letter also mentions the use of black magic against Akhilesh by his step-mother.

While asking Mulayam to clarify on his political successor, Udayveer also demanded that Akhilesh be made the party's national president so that there was no room for speculation or doubt.

Udayveer had earlier this week announced that he along with other Akhilesh loyalists would boycott the SP's silver jubilee celebrations in protest protest the expulsion of many of their colleagues by Mulayam and Shivpal.

Shivpal yesterday announced the new top office-bearers of the party's front organisations — the Yuvajan Sabha, minority wing, Mulyam Singh Youth brigade and Lohia Vahini.

As crisis deepened in the ruling Samajwadi Party, opposition BJP sought to fish in troubled waters, saying the Governor should ask Akhilesh to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly and till he did so, he should not take any policy decision.

"CM Akhilesh Yadav should resign or prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly," UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya told reporters.
"A government reduced to minority should not take any policy decision," he said.
As the confrontation between Akhilesh and Mulayam appeared to have reached a point of no return, reports were already doing the rounds that the Chief Minister could launch a new party -- National Samajwadi Party or Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party with motorcycle as its symbol.

The main cause of friction between the father and the son has been re-appointment of Amar Singh as the party's national general secretary, almost six years after he was removed from the SP.

Along with it, trouble brewed in the party after Shivpal forced merger of a political outfit headed by former gangster Muqtar Ansari with SP. Akhilesh initially refused entry to the Qaumi Ekta Dal, but was later forced into submission by his father.

Shivpal calculated that the new affiliation would boost the Samajwadi Party's standing among Muslims, especially in eastern UP.

But, Akhilesh was convinced it would allow the opposition to accuse the party of teaming with a nefarious leader for political gain.

Incidentally, the developments have thrown cold water over the upcoming silver jubilee anniversary of the party on November 5, which could be given a miss by Akhilesh who has announced a 'rath yatra' from November 3.

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News Network
March 25,2024

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will face Kerala BJP chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanand constituency this Lok Sabha election.

Wayanad, a Congress stronghold, has been with the party since 2009. Mr Gandhi won it in 2019 and retained his Lok Sabha membership, having lost his Amethi seat to Union Minister Smriti Irani.

His rival this time, Mr Surendran, has the significant task of challenging the Congress-Left binary in Kerala's political landscape. Both the Congress and the Left are in a national alliance though they remain rivals in this southern state.

Surendran has contested all three Lok Sabha elections since 2009 and also four Assembly elections. In 2021, he contested from Konni and Manjeshwar seats simultaneously. 

In 2019 general elections, Mr Surendran finished third in Pathanamthitta constituency behind the Congress and the Left. He had lost the 2016 assembly polls from Manjeswaram by merely 89 votes. He also contested a bypoll in 2019, but lost it as well.

He was appointed to head the BJP Kerala unit in 2020 and became the face of the protests against the entry of young women into Sabarimala years ago.

Mr Surendran, who is from Kozhikode, figured in the BJP's fifth candidates' list, which also named actor Kangana Ranaut and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

Wayanad is the second Kerala seat to see a battle of titans after Thiruvananthapuram, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will face the three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The BJP has also fielded former vice-chancellor of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University K S Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and actor-turned-politician G Krishnakumar from Kollam. T N Sarasu, a former educator, will contest from Alathur in Palakkad.

The highlight of the BJP's fifth list was the electoral debut of actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi in her homestate Himachal Pradesh. The list, which named 111 candidates in 17 states, also featured new joinees like industrialist Naveen Jindal and Mr Gangopadhyay.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP recently after taking voluntary retirement, is the first former judge to join electoral politics. He has been fielded from Tamluk in Bengal and will face Trinamool's Debangshu Bhattacharya, a youth leader who had penned the party's "Khela Hobe" song.

Varun Gandhi, a sitting MP from Pilibhit, has been dropped and his seat has gone to Jitin Prasada, who switched to the BJP from the Congress in run-up to the election. His mother Maneka Gandhi has been fielded from her current seat, Sultanpur.

Actor Arun Govil, who played Ram in popular TV series Ramayan, will contest from Meerut. Union ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and General VK Singh too were part of the list.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Budget carrier Air India Express has launched a new fare family, offering travelers the option to save on flight tickets by traveling light, with an increased baggage allowance of up to 40kg or no check-in luggage at all.

The new fare categories, applicable to flights to and from the UAE and other international destinations, are:

•    Xpress Lite
•    Xpress Value
•    Xpress Flex
•    Xpress Biz

Xpress Lite offers cabin baggage-only fares, making it the most economical option for passengers traveling with the airline.

Xpress Value fare includes 15 kg check-in bag fares, while Xpress Flex offers unlimited changes with no change fees. Xpress Biz features business class seats, complimentary meals, and priority services.

A subsidiary of Air India and a part of Tata Group, the airline introduced Xpress Lite on February 20 for UAE passengers who prefer traveling without check-in baggage.

Xpress Biz fares are accessible on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Travelers can benefit from increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares. This fare offers priority check-in, baggage, and boarding services.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with Biz seats across 70-plus routes in India.

In a previous interview with a news channel Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, stated that the carrier was looking to increase capacity to the Gulf region, including the UAE, as well as to provide better connectivity to Gulf travelers.
 

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News Network
March 16,2024

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New Delhi: The 2024 general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said today, announcing the largest democratic exercise in the world. Results will be announced on June 4.

The seven phases: 
April 19
April 26
May 7
May 13
May 20
May 25
June 1

Simultaneous election for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states -- Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra.  

By-elections will also be held for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Mr Kumar, announcing the dates, sent out a strong message on fake news on social media, saying political parties should ensure responsible social media behaviour -- "verify before you amplify".

"Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content," he said.

The other strong message was on violation of model code in terms of hate speeches. "There should be issue-based campaign, no hate speeches, no speeches along caste or religious lines, no criticism of anyone's personal lives," he said.

The media must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news, he said. Individual messages regarding this would be sent to the candidates, he added.

The commission has employed 2,100 advisors to keep an eye on these issues and strong action will be taken regarding this, he said.

Voters above the age of 85 years and persons with disabilities, with 40 per cent disability can vote from home, Mr Kumar said. Around 82 lakh voter are above the age of 85, he said.

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