Election results: CBI’s sword hangs over Mulayam, family

The Samajwadi Party pedalled to a podium finish in the UP polls, but a five-year-old Supreme Court order asking the CBI to inquire into an alleged disproportionate assets case of Mulayam Singh and kin could queer their victory pitch.

Going by the popular perception that the CBI heeds to the Centre's command in political cases, the Yadavs could ill-afford not to take note of the spoiler that the Congress-led UPA may prove for them. And the danger is neither far off nor improbable to be brushed aside. For, on October 26, 2007, the CBI had filed an application in the SC seeking permission to proceed ahead with the case on the ground that during the preliminary probe it had stumbled upon prima facie evidence on the alleged DA case of the SP chieftain, his sons, Akhilesh and Prateek, and daughter-in-law Dimple.

The CBI's plea that as an independent agency it did not take instructions from the government was filed in the court that was in the midst of hearing a petition filed by Akhilesh seeking review of the SC's March 2007 order passed on a PIL. The SC had ordered the CBI to submit the preliminary probe report to the Centre for further action.

When the matter was crucially poised before the court, there was a change in political equations with SP's 39 MPs rescuing the UPA during the 2008 trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal. Indebted by the SP's help, the UPA decided to pay back.

The CBI filed another application on December 6, 2008, seeking permission to withdraw its October 26, 2007 plea. The logic behind the flip-flop - a grave error in the calculation of assets had led the agency to believe that the SP chief and his family members had amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph reserved orders on the plea. After three years, the order is yet to come and Justice Joseph has retired. This would warrant a fresh hearing in the case and possible fresh trouble.

What if the CBI does a somersault again? The fallout could be grave: prosecution of all the four important members of the SP first family.

Mayawati is expected to speak to media before resigning

A day after being dethroned from power in Uttar Pradesh, outgoing Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati will on Wednesday meet the state Governor to submit her resignation.

Prior to submitting her resignation, Mayawati is expected to speak to media.

It should be noted that during her tenure as UP CM, Mayawati rarely met the press and when she did, rarely answered any questions.

On Tuesday, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) hopes for a revival in the country’s most populous state were dashed as Uttar Pradesh's 12.73 crore voters rallied behind the Samajwadi Party's (SP) to hand it a stunning victory over the BSP.

Winning 224 seats, the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party is set to form the government in the state with a comfortable majority in the 403-member Assembly. Its performance comes as quantum jump to 2007 when it was voted out of power and got just 97 seats.

The BSP has been literally wiped out, securing 80 wins now against its unprecedented 206 seats in 2007.

Meanwhile, the BJP with 47 seats has slipped from its earlier standing of 51 seats in 2007 but then it was in alliance with the Apna Dal.

The real loser was the Congress.

Though the party fared slightly better from its 22 seat tally of 2007 by getting 28 wins, the party faced humiliation with a complete rout in Amethi and Rae Bareilly - bastions of the Gandhi family, seats which are held in the Lok Sabha by general secretary Rahul Gandhi and party chief Sonia Gandhi respectively.

Independents and other small parties who won 16 seats in the 2007 state Assembly polls managed 14 seats this time.

Mulayam may support Congress to oust BJP

Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today said that he is willing to support the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after polls if he sees the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power.

"There is a wave in favour of SP, which is going to form the next government in the state...If I see BJP coming to power, our party can support Congress in the state to prevent communal forces," Mr Yadav told an election rally at Hamirpur.

The Congress, though, appeared lukewarm in its response to the SP's offer. The question is "premature and unnecessary at this point of time", party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury told reporters in reply to a volley of questions on the issue at the AICC briefing here.

Noting that the Congress' attitude on the issue was going to be "wait and watch", she said that "there has been no pre-poll pact between Congress and the Samajwadi Party. We have not arrived at post poll scenario as yet. We still have most phases of the polling left."

"I have no authority to rule it in or rule it out", she said but insisted that party leaders including Sonia Gandhi have made the party's stand against any alliance clear.

On whether Mr Yadav's offer was a virtual admission that his party was not getting majority on its own, she said it seems so.

The Congress is keeping its cards close to its chest on the issue of alliances in UP as it does not want to give an impression that it is a 'B team' of any other party.

Asked by a reporter if the Congress would like to go with Mulayam or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in the post-poll scenario, Chowdhury sarcastically replied, "When the time will come, the party will consult you."

Battle for UP : Maya, Sonia cross swords

A week before polling begins in Uttar Pradesh, the battle reached a feverish pitch Wednesday as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and BSP leader Mayawati crossed swords, calling themselves the saviour of India's most populous state.

Addressing major public rallies in UP where balloting will be staggered Feb 8 to March 3, Mayawati accused the central government of starving the state of development funds. Gandhi asserted that Rs.100,000 crore given to the state did not reach the poor and linked Mayawati to corruption.

In Sitapur, a Dalit citadel, an upbeat Mayawati pointed to the large crowds that had gathered to listen to her as a sign of her invincibility. She claimed that her government had done more work in the past five years than any other government since India's independence.

Asked if she was confident of winning, Mayawati said: "You can judge seeing the crowds."

Pitching for an inclusive growth in the state which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, Mayawati, the first Dalit chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said: "There is need to ensure progress of all communities. Only the BSP can ensure that.

"The centre did not cooperate with us fully," she charged.

Holding her first rally in UP, Gandhi slammed the Mayawati government for "inefficient implementation of centrally funded programmes" and questioned the Dalit leader's motives behind dismissing 21 of her ministers on the eve of elections.

Speaking in Gonda town, Gandhi said though the UPA government provided Rs.100,000 crore in developmental funds to Uttar Pradesh in recent years, it had not reached the poor because of an "inept" state administration.

Asking people to vote for the Congress, Gandhi said: ""Then, we will have a government of the common people and the poor.

"The present chief minister dismissed 21 of her ministers on election eve. She was not able to see their corruption in the past five years. I want to ask whether taking resignations has made her government clean? Is this not (a case of) cheating the people?"

Gandhi charged non-Congress governments of ruining the state since the Congress has been out of power in 1989.

"These parties have done nothing for the state. They have filled their own pockets," she said.

The Congress has shown signs of revival in the state.

The Congress won only 22 seats in the 403-member state assembly in 2007. But it swept 22 of the Lok Sabha 80 seats in 2009, finishing second among four major parties and stunning foes and friends alike.

congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and RLD chief Ajit Singh will address a joint rally at Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh Thursday.

Bar girls lure voters for Samajwadi Party

As the date for the Assembly Elections inches closer in Uttar Pradesh, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to lure the voters.

In an attempt to garner support, a candidate of the Samajwadi Party organised a dance programme in Kanpur on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti' on Saturday. But what caught the attention were the bar girls, who, wearing skimpy clothes, danced among the crowd and presented vulgar performances.

Hitting hard at the party, BJP Kanpur wing vice-president, Surendra Maithani, said the SP was using cheap tricks to woo voters and they would take up this issue with the Election Commission.

Election Commission to announce poll schedule for 5 states today

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for Assembly polls in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur on Saturday.

The poll schedule will be announced after a meeting between Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and Election Commissioners V S Sampath and H S Brahma to be held at 4.30 pm today.

The schedule for the elections will be given a final shape after the EC assesses the availability of paramilitary forces from the government.

The Election Commission had yesterday held discussions with Home Secretary R K Singh on the availability of paramilitary forces for Assembly polls in five states.

Around 80,000 paramilitary personnel, apart from state policemen, are expected to be deployed during the Assembly polls.

The Home Ministry conveyed to the Election Commission that it was ready to provide 700 to 800 companies (70,000-80,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces for deployment in the five states.

Sources said polling in politically-sensitive Uttar Pradesh is expected to be multi-phased while it will be in one phase in the other four states. It is expected that the polls will be held during February-March.