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

UP Global Investors Summit: Yogi Adityanath says Uttar Pradesh has received ₹32.92 lakh crore investment proposals through roadshows

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath describes UP Global Investors Summit as Mahakumbh of investment, says 18,645 MoUs have been signed

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath speaking at the UP Global Investors Summit in Lucknow on Friday. (PTI PHOTO)

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Published on Feb 11, 2023 02:00 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council to remain without leader of Opposition as Samajwadi Party fails to win any seat in MLC polls

The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council secretariat, by an order on July 6 last year, divested the Samajwadi Party of the post of leader of Opposition.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has claimed voters were not allowed to exercise their franchise in the MLC polls. (SOURCED IMAGE)

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Published on Feb 04, 2023 12:43 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Ramcharitmanas row, caste census to echo in U.P. budget session

The Samajwadi Party has made up its mind to take these issues to the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh legislature’s budget session likely to be convened after mid-February

A view of the facade of U.P. Vidhan Bhavan. (For Representation)

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Published on Jan 31, 2023 11:35 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Caste, religion narrative spices up 2024 Lok Sabha polls script for Samajwadi Party

The new Samajwadi Party national executive matches the caste percentages in Uttar Pradesh. The executive has 11 Yadavs, 10 Muslims and nine upper caste members.

The Samajwadi Party improved its tally of assembly seats from 47 in 2017 to 111 in 2022. (FILE PHOTO)

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Updated on Jan 31, 2023 01:07 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Non-Yadav OBCs, Dalits dominate Samajwadi Party’s 64-member national executive

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh’ Yadav’s balancing act shows social engineering attempt ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections

The Samajwadi Party had begun working on this wider caste inclusion formula in the run-up to the 2022 U.P. assembly polls (FILE PHOTO)

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Published on Jan 29, 2023 11:44 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Shivpal, Maurya get key roles in SP national executive

Shivpal, who also is Akhilesh’s uncle, after a long separation from the party (since 2017), reunited politically with Akhilesh during the recent Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypolls which Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav won

Shivpal Yadav (left) and Swami Prasad Maurya (right) (File Photo)

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Updated on Jan 29, 2023 07:21 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Row over Maurya remark: Akhilesh breaks silence, says BJP considers dalits,backwards as ‘shudras’

“The BJP has a problem with us going to ‘their’ religious places and seeking blessings from sant-mahatamas (seers),” Akhilesh told newspersons in Lucknow on Saturday.

Samawjadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav attended a ‘108 kundiya yagya’ at a venue on the banks of river Gomti in Lucknow on Saturday. He sought blessings from Maharaj Dandi Swami Ramashreyji, Yogi Rakesh Nath Yagyadhakshyaji and Mritunjaya Bharavi ji of Madhya Pradesh’s Pitambari Peeth. (Sourced)

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Published on Jan 29, 2023 12:38 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Amid Ramcharitmanas row, Akhilesh meets Maurya, breaks silence

Last week, Maurya sparked controversy for his statement that the words in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana, were hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community and demanded a ban on it

Maurya (left), a former UP cabinet minister and prominent OBC leader joined the Samajwadi Party in January last year (File Photo)

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Updated on Jan 28, 2023 05:45 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Eying 2024 polls, Akhilesh to start tour of LS constituencies in U.P. after Holi

The SP is also likely to launch its ‘jail bharo andolan (court arrest agitation)’ against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government after the state legislature’s budget session

national president Akhilesh Yadav. (HT file)

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Published on Jan 21, 2023 12:09 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Ayodhya Deepotsav themed U.P. tableau for Republic Day

Ayodhya Deepotsav will be the theme of Uttar Pradesh’s tableau for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26 this year

U.P. tableau for Republic Day in 2022. (ht file)

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Published on Jan 18, 2023 12:51 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Election Commission should conduct repolling in Rampur Sadar: Akhilesh Yadav

The BJP’s Akash Saxena defeated Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s nominee Asim Raza by a margin of 34,000 votes in Rampur Sadar

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Mainpuri. (ANI PHOTO)

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Updated on Dec 09, 2022 11:29 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

‘Video petitions’ that move authorities

Abdul Hafiz Gandhi of Kasganj uses video story-telling on social platform to draw attention to civic issues and people’s grievances

A grab of Abdul Hafiz Gandhi’s video. (SOURCED)

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Published on Dec 09, 2022 11:06 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

BJP trumps SP as it lays claim to Azam’s stronghold Rampur

LUCKNOW: In a first for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, the party on Thursday won the Rampur Sadar assembly seat — considered a stronghold of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan

BJP candidate Akash Saxena celebrates after winning, in Rampur. (PTI)

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Published on Dec 09, 2022 12:51 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

BJP breaches Azam’s stronghold, wins Rampur Sadar seat

BJP’s Akash Saxena defeated Azam’s nominee Asim Raza in a see-saw battle, scoring a convincing victory by a margin of 34,000 votes

BJP candidate Akash Saxena (in red) receives the ‘Certificate of Election’ after winning the Rampur Assembly by-elections, in Rampur, Thursday. (PTI Photo)

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Updated on Dec 08, 2022 09:49 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

SP registers emphatic win in MSY bastion, BJP wrests Rampur Sadar seat

Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Madan Bhaiyya wins Khatauli seat by defeating BJP’s candidate Rajkumari Saini, wife of Vikram Saini, by over 22,000 votes

Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav with her husband and party president Akhilesh Yadav shows the ‘certificate of election’ during a press conference after her victory in Mainpuri by-elections, in Mainpuri, Thursday. (PTI Photo)

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Updated on Dec 09, 2022 01:02 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Rampur Sadar to vote for sixth time in as many years

The voter turnout in Rampur Lok Sabha election was 63%, in the 2022 assembly election in Rampur Sadar it fell to 56%, and then in the 2022 LS bypoll it plummeted to 41%.

BJP leaders at a Khichdi Panchayat in Rampur. (ANI PHOTO)

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Updated on Nov 29, 2022 01:12 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Mainpuri bypoll: Samajwadi Party names Shivpal Yadav as star campaigner

The SP’s announcement came within hours after the BJP fielded Raghuraj Shakya, a former SP lawmaker considered close PSP-L chief

This is the first time that the Samajwadi Party included Shivpal Yadav on the list of its star campaigners for an election. (FILE PHOTO)

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Published on Nov 15, 2022 11:57 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Dimple Yadav to contest bypoll to Mainpuri seat

The Samajwadi Party on Thursday fielded Dimple Yadav, wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, as its candidate for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll on December 5.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded Dimple Yadav, wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, as its candidate for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll on December 5. (ANI)

india news

Updated on Nov 11, 2022 12:40 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Mainpuri bypoll: Mulayam’s daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav to defend his Lok Sabha seat

Since the day after Mulayam’s death, the names of former Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav and Dimple Yadav were being speculated for the Mainpuri seat.

Dimple Yadav had won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in 2012 and 2014. (FILE PHOTO)

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Published on Nov 10, 2022 10:47 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Mainpuri Bypolls: Samajwadi Party fields Dimple Yadav as its candidate

Mainpuri has always been an SP bastion. It was from here that Mulayam Yadav was first elected an MP in 1996. He successfully contested the seat three more times—2004, 2009 and 2019

Dimple, the former Kannauj MP will contest the seat in an attempt to inherit the seat from her father-in-law (Twitter | Kailash Nath Yadav)

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Updated on Nov 10, 2022 04:04 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Calculated move by SP: Shakya appointed Mainpuri dist chief ahead of bypolls in west UP

Insiders say this appointment is a strategic caste arithmetic deployed by the party;Shakyas are the second dominant caste in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency after the Yadavs

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Published on Nov 09, 2022 11:12 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

UP bypolls: Samajwadi Party looks to retain bastions as BJP plans inroads

Mainpuri fell vacant following the demise of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rampur assembly seat because of the disqualification of its MLA Azam Khan following the three-year jail term by the Rampur MP/MLA court in a 2019 hate speech case.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav. (PTI Photo)

india news

Updated on Nov 06, 2022 03:42 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Samajwadi Party begins process of gathering evidence to back its claim about voter names deletion

The move comes four days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) asked Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to “submit documentary proof” to substantiate his allegation about deletion of voter names in the 2022 U.P. assembly polls.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav offering floral tribute to a portrait of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in Lucknow on Monday. (SOURCED IMAGE)

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Updated on Nov 01, 2022 12:33 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

BJP headed for one-sided win in Bihar as well: Keshav Prasad Maurya on 2024 Lok Sabha polls

People are regretting that Nitish Kumar left the BJP in Bihar, says Keshav Prasad Maurya at the event, “Road to 2024--In Conversation with HT”

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at the event, ‘Road to 2024 -- In Conversation with HT’. (Deepak Gupta/HT )

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Updated on Oct 31, 2022 01:17 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Anything good will come to U.P. also: Keshav Prasad Maurya amid buzz over uniform civil code, population control bill elsewhere

Only those with political motives creating panic, says Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at “Road to 2024-In Conversation with Hindustan Times”

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya speaking at “Road to 2024-In Conversation with Hindustan Times” in Lucknow. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

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Published on Oct 31, 2022 01:02 AM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Azam Khan’s jail term may give BJP a shot at winning Rampur assembly seat for first time

Azam Khan had vacated the Rampur Lok Sabha seat earlier this year to retain the Rampur assembly seat after the 2022 UP assembly polls. The BJP won the Lok Sabha seat in the bypolls.

Samajwad Party leader Azam Khan leaves the court premises in Rampur on Thursday. (PTI PHOTO)

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Published on Oct 27, 2022 11:15 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow

Wrestler to people’s leader: Man who wore many hats

Mulayam Singh Yadav enjoyed close and warm relationships across parties – the Congress, of course, but also the BJP.

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away at the age of 82, on Monday, October 10, 2022. He was under treatment at Gurugram's Medanta hospital. (PTI)

india news

Updated on Oct 11, 2022 12:16 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Haidar Naqvi, Manish Chandra Pandey, Lucknow/kanpur

Mulayam Singh Yadav: A politician who knew his vote bank, limitations

His original aspiration was to become a wrestler, but ended up becoming a government school teacher after obtaining a master’s degree from Agra University

Yadav developed a keen interest in politics at the age of 15. (Twitter)

india news

Updated on Oct 10, 2022 04:45 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal, Haidar Naqvi and Manish Chandra Pandey

Focus on making U.P. safer for women

Social security, financial stability and empowerment of women have been top on Yogi government 2.0 agenda

To create a safe atmosphere for women, the Yogi government is establishing three women’s PAC battalions for the first time in the state (Pic for representation)

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Published on Sep 24, 2022 11:39 PM IST

ByPankaj Jaiswal

Rajya Sabha elections: Jayant Chaudhary named joint candidate of SP, RLD

Dimple Yadav, SP’s former Kannauj MP and party president Akhilesh Yadav’s wife (whose name was also among the SP probables) is now likely to be the SP candidate in the forthcoming Lok Sabha bypolls on the Azamgarh seat vacated by Akhilesh Yadav.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav with Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary.

india news

Updated on May 27, 2022 02:18 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

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath describes UP Global Investors Summit as Mahakumbh of investment, says 18,645 MoUs have been signed

The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council secretariat, by an order on July 6 last year, divested the Samajwadi Party of the post of leader of Opposition.

The Samajwadi Party has made up its mind to take these issues to the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh legislature’s budget session likely to be convened after mid-February

The new Samajwadi Party national executive matches the caste percentages in Uttar Pradesh. The executive has 11 Yadavs, 10 Muslims and nine upper caste members.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh’ Yadav’s balancing act shows social engineering attempt ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections

Shivpal, who also is Akhilesh’s uncle, after a long separation from the party (since 2017), reunited politically with Akhilesh during the recent Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypolls which Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav won

“The BJP has a problem with us going to ‘their’ religious places and seeking blessings from sant-mahatamas (seers),” Akhilesh told newspersons in Lucknow on Saturday.

Last week, Maurya sparked controversy for his statement that the words in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana, were hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community and demanded a ban on it

The SP is also likely to launch its ‘jail bharo andolan (court arrest agitation)’ against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government after the state legislature’s budget session

Ayodhya Deepotsav will be the theme of Uttar Pradesh’s tableau for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26 this year

The BJP’s Akash Saxena defeated Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s nominee Asim Raza by a margin of 34,000 votes in Rampur Sadar

Abdul Hafiz Gandhi of Kasganj uses video story-telling on social platform to draw attention to civic issues and people’s grievances

LUCKNOW: In a first for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, the party on Thursday won the Rampur Sadar assembly seat — considered a stronghold of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan

BJP’s Akash Saxena defeated Azam’s nominee Asim Raza in a see-saw battle, scoring a convincing victory by a margin of 34,000 votes

Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Madan Bhaiyya wins Khatauli seat by defeating BJP’s candidate Rajkumari Saini, wife of Vikram Saini, by over 22,000 votes

The voter turnout in Rampur Lok Sabha election was 63%, in the 2022 assembly election in Rampur Sadar it fell to 56%, and then in the 2022 LS bypoll it plummeted to 41%.

The SP’s announcement came within hours after the BJP fielded Raghuraj Shakya, a former SP lawmaker considered close PSP-L chief

The Samajwadi Party on Thursday fielded Dimple Yadav, wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, as its candidate for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll on December 5.

Since the day after Mulayam’s death, the names of former Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav and Dimple Yadav were being speculated for the Mainpuri seat.

Mainpuri has always been an SP bastion. It was from here that Mulayam Yadav was first elected an MP in 1996. He successfully contested the seat three more times—2004, 2009 and 2019

Insiders say this appointment is a strategic caste arithmetic deployed by the party;Shakyas are the second dominant caste in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency after the Yadavs

Mainpuri fell vacant following the demise of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rampur assembly seat because of the disqualification of its MLA Azam Khan following the three-year jail term by the Rampur MP/MLA court in a 2019 hate speech case.

The move comes four days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) asked Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to “submit documentary proof” to substantiate his allegation about deletion of voter names in the 2022 U.P. assembly polls.

People are regretting that Nitish Kumar left the BJP in Bihar, says Keshav Prasad Maurya at the event, “Road to 2024--In Conversation with HT”

Only those with political motives creating panic, says Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at “Road to 2024-In Conversation with Hindustan Times”

Azam Khan had vacated the Rampur Lok Sabha seat earlier this year to retain the Rampur assembly seat after the 2022 UP assembly polls. The BJP won the Lok Sabha seat in the bypolls.

Mulayam Singh Yadav enjoyed close and warm relationships across parties – the Congress, of course, but also the BJP.

His original aspiration was to become a wrestler, but ended up becoming a government school teacher after obtaining a master’s degree from Agra University

Social security, financial stability and empowerment of women have been top on Yogi government 2.0 agenda

Dimple Yadav, SP’s former Kannauj MP and party president Akhilesh Yadav’s wife (whose name was also among the SP probables) is now likely to be the SP candidate in the forthcoming Lok Sabha bypolls on the Azamgarh seat vacated by Akhilesh Yadav.

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