M Tariq Khan is a Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times political bureau in Lucknow. He has spent over a decade doing development and investigative journalism. Apart from covering political parties and various departments of Uttar Pradesh Government, he also writes on minorities politics and has a flair for offbeat stories.
Articles by M Tariq Khan
Akhilesh Yadav’s political fortunes in UP polls ride on Agra-Lucknow expressway
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s political fortunes are riding on the expressway, which is at the core of a development plank the Samajwadi Party is hoping will carry it back to power in the upcoming assembly elections.
Updated on Feb 07, 2017 07:10 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow/ Unnao/ Kannauj/ Etawah/Agra | Gulam Jeelani and M Tariq Khan
The 2Cs of UP polls: More ‘crorepatis’ than criminals among candidates for first phase
The average assets of the candidates now stand at Rs 2.81 crore, which is a huge jump from the previous polls.
Updated on Feb 05, 2017 12:10 PM IST
Lucknow | M Tariq Khan, Lucknow
We were used and ditched by Samajwadi Party: Ansari brothers
After a two month hiatus and denial of party tickets by SP, Mukhtar’s party on Thursday hopped on Bahujan Samaj Party’s bandwagon accusing the ruling SP of backstabbing it.
Updated on Mar 01, 2017 11:13 AM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan, Lucknow
SP, Cong experiment with ‘our symbol, your candidate’ formula
The concept is being billed as ‘Chehra tumhara, symbol hamara’ (your candidate, our party symbol). The idea gained currency after the Congress and the SP sealed a poll pact.
Published on Jan 25, 2017 01:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Umesh Raghuvanshi/M Tariq Khan, Lucknow
Busy leading campaign, Akhilesh won’t make assembly poll debut this time
On December 16, the UP CM had expressed his desire to contest from Babina in Bundelkhand and Kannauj assembly constituencies. Akhilesh, who represented Kannauj Lok Sabha, quit the seat in 2012 when he was chosen to lead the SP government.
Published on Jan 25, 2017 01:07 PM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan
UP polls: With SP-Cong alliance set, Akhilesh and Rahul might campaign together
Poll alliance sealed, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav are now expected to woo voters together in the country’s most populous state where voting opens on February 11.
Updated on Jan 24, 2017 08:35 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi/Lucknow | Aurangzeb Naqshbandi and M Tariq Khan
Samajwadi Party, Congress announce alliance for 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections
The Congress and Samajwadi Party announced an alliance ahead of the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh at a joint press conference in Lucknow.
Updated on Jan 22, 2017 11:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow/New Delhi | Umesh Raghuvanshi, M Tariq Khan and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
How hoardings capture SP family drama in poll-bound UP
Billboards put up by Akhliesh Yadav loyalists in Uttar Pradesh played a key role in depicting the changing political narrative and the bitter power tussle in the Yadav family, culminating in the UP chief minister’s victory.
Updated on Jan 24, 2017 11:00 AM IST
Lucknow | M Tariq Khan, Lucknow
UP election: Samajwadi Party-Congress talks fail, Akhilesh meets Raj Babbar
Congress leaders are meeting in Delhi after the Samajwadi Party snubbed it and announced 191 candidates on all seats in the first three phases of Uttar Pradesh elections.
Updated on Jan 20, 2017 06:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | M Tariq Khan and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
Muzaffarnagar haunts plans for alliance with RLD
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav remained closeted with party general secretary Ramgopal Yadav on Wednesday for the 140 assembly seats that go to polls on February 11 and 15. A formal announcement of the alliance is expected by Thursday with Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad expected to arrive later this evening in Lucknow.
Published on Jan 19, 2017 01:04 PM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan
With Akhilesh in control, expelled loyalists brought back into party fold
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday revoked the expulsion of nine Akhilesh Yadav loyalists, who were ejected from the party by former state unit president Shivpal Yadav for alleged indiscipline.
Updated on Jan 19, 2017 09:24 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan
Akhilesh looks to win over Mulayam as Congress, Samajwadi Party seal alliance deal
Alliance with the Congress in the bag, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is now working on a patch-up with father Mulayam, who was dealt a blow on Monday after the poll panel declared the CM’s faction the Samajwadi Party, allotting it the party symbol, a bicycle.
Updated on Jan 18, 2017 01:26 AM IST
Lucknow/New Delhi, Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi, Lucknow/new Delhi
Mulayam gives list of 38 candidates to Akhilesh, Shivpal’s son makes the cut
A day after the Election Commission allotted the Samajwadi Party’s bicycle symbol to Akhilesh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister extended an olive branch to father Mulayam Singh amid a feud in the state’s first family.
Updated on Jan 17, 2017 05:19 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan
Uttar Pradesh election: Akhilesh reaches out to Mulayam after bagging SP symbol
The morning after securing the Election Commission’s stamp on his claim as the national president of the Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav sought to soften the blow on his father and the party’s founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, insisting that there were never differences between them.
Updated on Jan 17, 2017 02:02 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan
As it happened: Akhilesh gets SP symbol, tweets ‘Cycle chalti jayegi, aage badhti jayegi’
The Election Commission of India on Monday allotted the Samajwadi Party’s ‘bicycle’ poll symbol to the faction led by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Updated on Jan 16, 2017 11:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan
UP elections 2017: Mulayam slams son Akhilesh, indicates party feud will go on
Uttar Pradesh’s ruling party has been rocked by a months-long feud between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, backed by Mulayam.
Updated on Jan 16, 2017 03:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan and Pankaj Jaiswal
Akhilesh faction of SP working on a new list of candidates
Former ministers Narad Rai, Om Prakash Singh, Shadab Fatima and Ambika Chowdhary, who were sacked by Akhilesh following tit-for-tat expulsions of his loyalists from the party, may be included in the new list .
Published on Jan 12, 2017 12:51 PM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan
Ramgopal wanted to form new party with motorcycle as symbol: Mulayam Singh Yadav
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav appealed for unity in the party saying, “there should be no division, party should always be united.”
Updated on Jan 11, 2017 07:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan
How meet with Amar Singh derailed the Samajwadi Party standoff
Akhilesh, according to the leader, had made it clear that he was willing to discuss things only with netaji in the presence of Azam and Shivpal and not in front of any ‘outsider’ (read Amar Singh).
Updated on Jan 07, 2017 08:14 AM IST
Lucknow, Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan
Samajwadi Party stares at split as warring factions refuse to blink
A series of meetings failed to throw up a solution for the beleaguered Samajwadi Party (SP) as the warring factions refused to back down on Friday, leaving the ruling party staring at a split a month ahead of the assembly polls.
Updated on Jan 06, 2017 10:53 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan & Pankaj Jaiswal
Yadav family feud: Akhilesh meets Mulayam, but no sign of truce yet
Akhilesh Yadav met Mulayam Singh Yadav after he returned from Delhi where he had gone to meet Election Commission to stake claim to Samajwadi Party’s election symbol bicycle.
Updated on Jan 04, 2017 12:53 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | Pankaj Jaiswal and M Tariq Khan
Azam Khan plays the peacemaker in SP, unites warring Mulayam and Akhilesh
The Samajwadi Party’s Muslim heavyweight, Azam Khan, played the peacemaker on Saturday to pull the party away from splitting because of a bitter family feud. Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s trusted lieutenant has been maintaining equidistance from the warring father and son. But he stepped in when Mulayam expelled his son, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, for six years on Friday and pushed the 25-year-old political outfit to the verge of a split.
Updated on Dec 31, 2016 07:18 PM IST
Lucknow, Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan
UP elections: After losing arms license, Atiq Ahmad says ‘follow rules’
The Samajwadi Party and its government are clearly on a different tangent when it comes to criminals in politics.
Updated on Dec 23, 2016 01:14 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Lucknow | M Tariq Khan
Countdown for Lucknow’s metro-morphosis begins
To ensure a smooth roll-out, top Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) officials are closely monitoring the test runs of the newly-acquired coaches on the 700-metre track inside its state-of-the-art Transport Nagar Metro Depot in Lucknow.
Published on Nov 23, 2016 07:45 PM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan, Lucknow
Yadav family puts up united front at Agra-Lucknow Expressway inauguration
Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Yadav family put up a united front on Monday at the inaugural of the Agra-Lucknow expressway after months of in-fighting appeared to spilt the party.
Updated on Nov 22, 2016 12:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan, Unnao
In pics: IAF’s Sukhoi, Mirage jets ‘touch down’ on Agra-Lucknow Expressway
The 3.3-km stretch of the 302-km expressway can be used to land jets in emergencies when the military air fields are not available.
Updated on Nov 21, 2016 08:20 PM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan, Unnao
Indian Air Force jets dazzle at Lucknow-Agra expressway inauguration
Thousands of villagers and onlookers gathered to witness the rare event, as fighter jets whizzed past, almost skimming the road before roaring off into the sky again. The landings, air force officials said, are simulated and the jets don’t touch the road as it would damage the wheels.
Updated on Nov 21, 2016 06:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan and Pankaj Jaiswal, Unnao/lucknow
UP polls: BJP seeks gain from demonetisation; Cong, SP rework strategy
Demonetisation will be the BJP’s key theme of an upcoming publicity blitzkrieg in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, where its three major rival parties have been forced to slow down political activities ever since the centre’s withdrawal of two high-value banknotes last week.
Updated on Nov 15, 2016 06:39 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Umesh Raghuvanshi, M Tariq Khan and Manish Chandra Pandey, Lucknow
Demonetisation slows down political activities in UP ahead of polls
Some political parties, which had already announced the dates of rallies or public meetings before high denomination notes were scrapped last week, have either cancelled or deferred their programme.
Updated on Nov 14, 2016 10:38 PM IST
Umesh Raghuvanshi and M Tariq Khan, Lucknow
Currency ban: Stand against Modi brings Kejriwal, Maya and Mulayam on same page
Uttar Pradesh political stalwarts Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati demanded immediate rollback of the Centre’s decision to abolish high-value notes, likening the move to the period of Emergency in the late 1970s.
Updated on Nov 11, 2016 01:33 AM IST
Hindustan Times | M Tariq Khan and Rajesh Kumar Singh, Lucknow / New Delhi