In thick of Owaisi’s Dalit-Muslim plans, a Hindu salesman from Azamgarh

Gautam created stir after getting elected as AIMIM candidate from Ward number 32 of Azamgarh, which is SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Lok Sabha constituency.

Written by Faisal Fareed | Lucknow | Published:November 6, 2015 12:00 am

Not many in AIMIM would miss a call from Asaduddin Owaisi. But Kailash Kumar Gautam (34), who won the recent zila panchayat elections from Azamgarh, was not around when his party chief called up to congratulate him on his win.

“I was busy with some work and I missed the call and did not call back. Then our state president Shaukat told me that Owaisi saheb had called me to congratulate for the victory,” he told The Indian Express.

Gautam created stir after getting elected as AIMIM candidate from Ward number 32 of Azamgarh, which is SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Lok Sabha constituency. Now, being taken seriously, AIMIM is even considering Gautam for the 2017 Assembly polls in the state.

Already, the party wants Gautam to address public meetings so that he can be projected as the AIMIM mascot for its Dalit-Muslim combination, with its slogan ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Meem’. “Owaisi saheb had told party workers that it is a good sign to start from Azamgarh… He will visit us soon,” he said.

A first-time entrant in politics, Gautam works as a salesman in a private company in Azamgarh. After deciding to enter the fray, he preferred to contest as a AIMIM candidate. “I approached AIMIM state president Shaukat Ali through our local president Kalim Jamei. They chose me as the candidate,” he said.

“There are a good number of Dalits and a few Muslims in my ward. For me, the Dalit-Muslim combination worked. AIMIM gave me a platform to raise my voice for these two communities. I gave no thought about joining any other party,” Gautam said.

He added: “If I had contested as a SP candidate, there was no chance of winning. Muslims readily supported me and Dalits too had no apprehension, as AIMIM also raised their issues.”

On contesting the Assembly polls, Gautam said: “With our combination of Dalit-Muslim intact, our party stands a chance.”

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Supporting panchayat candidates helped party: BJP

Lucknow:- BJP today defended its decision to officially support candidates in the just concluded Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls, claiming that it “benefited” the party 10 times more than expected.

“Decision to contest pachayat polls was a political decision taken during state executive meeting at Mathura. It was decided that the party will contest all elections even that of cooperatives,” state BJP president Laxmi Kant Bajpai told reporters here.

He also rejected report that the party lost in Jayapur village adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.

“From Jayapur two block development committee members backed by the party have won,” he said.

Bajpai claimed the BJP was the only party that officially declared the list of candidates its supported.

“We have even disclosed the number of winning candidates backed by the BJP. We have won 536 seats which is 10 times higher than the past, when party workers used to contest the polls unofficially,” he said.

The state president said that contesting panchayat polls infused fresh blood, provided new youth leadership to the party and it got success in entering even at the lowest level.

“Ask SP and BSP. Did they declare the list of their candidates? Now there is a competition between the two and they are claiming even independent candidates as their own which is immoral,” he said.

Bajpai said that SP lost both the seats to BSP in a Azamgarh village, which has been adopted by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

“A number of relatives and family members of ministers and senior SP leaders lost. If they have any morality left then they should resign or the government should drop them,” he demanded.

While accusing the state government on failing on several fronts, the BJP state president demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

“He should resign on the basis of inefficiency and SP supremo should replace him with some other person,” he said.

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SP suffers jolt in UP panchayat polls, BSP fares well

know: Ruling Samajwadi Party suffered a jolt in pockets of Uttar Pradesh with many relatives of ministers and senior leaders losing in the zila panchayat elections while BJP-supported candidates won only in 8 of the 48 seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi 

As ballots cast in the four-phase polling were counted today, Opposition BSP emerged as the surprise front-runner in the elections with most of the candidates it supported, registering victory.

In Varanasi's Jayapur, the village adopted by Modi, BJP candidate Arun Singh was defeated by BSP's Ramesh Tiwari.

The SP claimed to have won 25 seats in Varanasi district while Congress won 2, BSP 3, BJP ally Apna Dal 4 and Independents 6. In the last elections, BJP had won 3 seats.

The panchayat elections are not contested on party symbols and major parties chose not to officially announce the candidates it had endorsed.

Polling was held for 3,112 posts of district panchayats and 77,576 membership post in block panchayats and counting was done at 819 block headquarters amid tight security.

BJP, which had supported candidates in zila panchayat and kshetra panchayat polls for the first time, could not make a significant impact.

The results assume significance as they have come just about a year before the assembly elections.

BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, "The results indicate that people of the state, especially in villages, have decided to bid goodbye to the corrupt and inefficient Samajwadi Party government."

Accusing the ruling SP of misusing government machinery, he said that a review of the results would be done for which report has been sought from every district.

Samajwadi Party, however, discounted reports of losing the polls with its spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary claiming that the electorate have approved the government's policies and programmes during last three-and-a-half years of its rule.

He said people have rejected BJP in a big way.

In Azamgarh, the Lok Sabha seat represented by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, the party-supported candidate was defeated even in Tamausi village, which has been adopted by Mulayam.

Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen opened its account in Azamgarh by winning a seat in Maksudia.

State Election Commission said that after holding the elections of the Kshetra and district panchayat members in four phases, it would now prepare for the crucial pradhan and village panchayat polls in four phases from November 27 to December 9 with counting of votes on December 12. Notification for the pradhan polls would be issued on November 7.

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UP panchayat election results a boost for BSP

BY LISA BRYAN - AT NOVEMBER 05, 2015

"It was decided that the party will contest all elections even that of cooperatives", state BJP president Laxmi Kant Bajpai told reporters here.

As ballots cast in the four-phase polling were counted today, Opposition BSP emerged as the surprise front-runner in the elections with most of the candidates it supported, registering victory.

"The results are a clear signal that the people are favouring the development-oriented politics and governance of (Chief Minister) Akhilesh Yadav", party spokesman and cabinet minister Rajendra Chowdhary said.

Though several of the senior UP politicians of all the political parties have got success in helping their kins to win the elections, but on the other hand a few of them had to lick the dust.

Panchayat polls are not fought on party symbols but the contestants alwasy are always influenced or backed by a few political leaders.

Likewise, there is reason for alarm for the BJP as candidates supported by the party have been routed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. BJP claims to have won 535 and Congress 81 out of 1500-odd it had declared its candidates for while SP didn't official announce the list of candidates it was supporting.

The results assume significance as they have come just about a year before the assembly elections.

Om Mathur, BJP party in-charge has convened a meeting in Lucknow on November 3 to discuss the results.

Accusing the ruling SP of misusing government machinery, he said that a review of the results would be done for which report has been sought from every district.

A candidate supported by Asaduddin Owaisi's Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or MIM, has won a seat in Azamgarh, the parliamentary constituency of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh -- touted as a semi-final ahead of the next assembly elections - have jolted both the Congress and the BJP. Notification for the pradhan polls would be issued on November 7.

Source : http://wirelessgoodness.com/2015/11/05/up-panchayat-election-results-a-boost-for-bsp8955/