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 Polls: Polling moves to heart of Uttar Pradesh; to complete halfway mark today
“Picture still unclear, confusing” as voting will be held in 59 constituencies of nine districts to decide the fate of 624 candidates
Published on Feb 22, 2022 10:38 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
UP Polls: As camaraderie blooms, Akhilesh names Shivpal as star campaigner
As part of its campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party named Shivpal Yadav, the once estranged uncle of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, as a star campaigner.
Published on Feb 21, 2022 10:32 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Jaswant Nagar: A constituency synonymous with victory of Yadavs
Shivpal has won the Jaswant Nagar seat 5 times in a row since 1996. This constituency initiated Mulayam Singh Yadav into electoral politics. He won his first assembly poll in 1967 as Samyukta Socialist Party candidate and won the seat seven times before handing it over to Shivpal
Published on Feb 18, 2022 11:40 PM IST
The only suspense is if Akhilesh would win by 1.50 lakh votes or more, say SP supporters in Karhal
UP elections are headed to the third phase, and one of the most-watched constituencies is now Karhal, from where the ruling BJP’s main challenger, Akhilesh Yadav, is contesting his first assembly polls
Published on Feb 17, 2022 01:09 AM IST
‘New India’: SP chief Akhilesh attacks BJP over bail to minister Mishra’s son
SP chief Akhilesh targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his claims on Thursday that the first phase of the UP elections was going the BJP’s way, and said that the “wipeout” of the ruling government has begun in the first phase and will continue.
Updated on Feb 12, 2022 02:24 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
One who built university in jail, one who killed farmers out on bail: Akhilesh
SP chief claims that the voting in the first phase of UP Assembly polls has given enough indications that the BJP would be wiped out from Uttar Pradesh
Published on Feb 11, 2022 08:05 PM IST
If Bengal could defeat BJP, so can UP: Mamata in Lucknow
Banerjee is on a two-day campaigning tour in Uttar Pradesh.
Published on Feb 09, 2022 01:39 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
BJP, SP manifestos battle it out over farm, jobs, crime
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) released their Uttar Pradesh poll manifestos on Tuesday, focusing on generating employment, improving farm incomes and bolstering law and order in the state where elections begin in two days
Updated on Feb 09, 2022 05:53 AM IST
I’m here for Samajwadi Party’s victory, BJP’s defeat, says Mamata in Lucknow
This is not the first time Banerjee has visited Lucknow for the SP. Ahead of the 2017 UP assembly polls, she had come to support the SP when she held an anti-demonetisation public meeting at the 1090 crossing in Lucknow. Akhilesh was the UP chief minister then.
Published on Feb 07, 2022 11:40 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal & Joydeep Thakur
UP polls: Mamata Banerjee in Lucknow, says she is here for SP’s win, BJP’s defeat
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will hold joint events with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Tuesday for the UP polls
Updated on Feb 08, 2022 12:31 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal and Joydeep Thakur, Lucknow/kolkata
UP polls: Samajwadi Party fields Brahmin candidate against Yogi Adityanath
The name of Subhavati Shukla, who has been pitted against Yogi Adityanath, is on the Samajwadi Party’s latest list of 24 candidates for the UP assembly polls
Published on Feb 07, 2022 11:12 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
SP releases new list, BJP ex-minister Maurya not to contest from bastion
Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who, last month, left the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Samajwadi Party (SP), will contest the upcoming state assembly elections from Kushinagar’s Fazilnagar seat, instead of the Padrauna seat, which he has represented since 2008.
Updated on Feb 03, 2022 06:54 AM IST
UP Polls: SP throws a three-pronged challenge to BJP
SP makes it tough for Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya in Sirathu; fields Abhishek Mishra from Sarojini Nagar and moves Swami Prasad Maurya to Fazilnagar
Published on Feb 02, 2022 10:36 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Congress will not field candidates against Akhilesh, Shivpal Yadav
The Congress had already declared not to field any candidate from Jaswant Nagar seat, from where Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal Yadav is contesting. Shivpal, the chief of Pragitisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L), is contesting the upcoming election on SP ticket.
Updated on Feb 02, 2022 08:05 AM IST
Hemendra Chaturvedi and Pankaj Jaiswal, Agra/lucknow
Akhilesh Yadav files nomination for his first assembly polls
Uttar Pradesh assembly polls: After filing his papers for the Karhal seat in Mainpuri, Akhilesh Yadav says this nomination is a mission to foster positive politics and progressive thinking
Updated on Jan 31, 2022 10:21 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Akhilesh accuses BJP of fielding 99 candidates with criminal past
There is a difference between our nominees and theirs, BJP candidates were booked for political agitations, says UP law minister while refuting Akhilesh Yadav’s allegations
Published on Jan 30, 2022 10:49 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Rakesh Tikait interview: ‘Farmers are above caste, we’re united on issues’
Ahead of UP elections, BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who belongs to the Jat community, told HT that his farmer union is seeking solutions to their agricultural woes, and has maintained a distance from electoral politics.
Updated on Jan 29, 2022 07:33 AM IST
We are farmers, not in the business of votes: Rakesh Tikait
Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait says farmers are above caste and remain united on issues that concern them
Updated on Jan 29, 2022 12:50 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Akhilesh claims BJP ploy after chopper held up in ahead of Muzaffarnagar rally
Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2022: A Delhi airport official attributed the delay to high air traffic.
Published on Jan 29, 2022 12:25 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
UP polls: Samajwadi Party’s third list of 56 candidates out, 85-year-old MLA, five party hoppers on it
Nine Muslims, 12 Yadavs and 11 non-Yadav OBC candidates are also there on the Samajwadi Party’s third list for the UP polls
Published on Jan 27, 2022 11:03 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Convicted ex-minister’s wife is SP’s choice for Amethi, Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya
UP elections 2022: SP’s second list for UP elections repeats Pawan Pandey on Ayodhya third time over; gives Amethi ticket to rape convict Gayatri Prasad Prajapati’s wife
Published on Jan 26, 2022 05:39 PM IST
UP elections: Akhilesh Yadav again slams opinion polls, terms them ‘opium polls’
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday described surveys predicting the BJP return to power in the upcoming UP assembly elections as “opium polls”.
Updated on Jan 27, 2022 12:17 AM IST
Campaigning in Uttar Pradesh likely to gather speed from Feb 1
Election campaigning in Uttar Pradesh had visibly changed after the election notification on January 8. All parties went off the streets no sooner than the model code of conduct (MCC) and Covid-19 safety protocols by the Election Commission of India came into force.
Published on Jan 26, 2022 12:36 AM IST
UP poll campaign likely to gather speed from Feb 1
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to announce permission for public meetings with certain restrictions after January 31.
Published on Jan 25, 2022 05:24 PM IST
UP elections: Azam, Shivpal figure in SP’s first list of candidates
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, his uncle Shivpal Yadav and jailed leader Azam Khan were among 159 candidates who figured on the party’s first list of candidates for the impending assembly elections in UP, on Monday.
Updated on Jan 25, 2022 03:12 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Hindustan Times, Lucknow
SP urges poll panel to ban UP opinion polls
The state president of the Samajwadi Party, Naresh Uttam Patel, in a short letter to the ECI asked for a “ban, with immediate effect” on the opinion polls.
Updated on Jan 24, 2022 01:13 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Hindustan Times, Lucknow
UP polls: After Samajwadi Party, ally SBSP also names candidate for same Sandila seat
UP polls: After Samajwadi Party announced the candidature of Rita Singh, the SBSP named its UP president Sunil Arkvanshi as the Samajwadi Party-SBSP candidate on the Sandila seat in Hardoi
Published on Jan 23, 2022 10:55 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Ban opinion polls immediately: Samajwadi Party sends petition to ECI
Uttar Pradesh is going to polls in seven phases for which the last date of polling is on March 7 and counting of votes will be held on March 10. Several television news channels are running opinion polls that are misleading the voters, and the elections are getting affected, Samajwadi Party leaders claimed.
Published on Jan 23, 2022 05:35 PM IST
Kashi Vishwanath corridor to feature in Uttar Pradesh’s Republic Day tableau
Lucknow/Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh’s tableau at the Republic Day parade will showcase the cultural revitalization of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi and the state’s one district, one product scheme
Updated on Jan 23, 2022 07:14 AM IST
UP’s R-Day tableau themed on KV Corridor, ODOP
The UP tableau’s theme was approved by the tableau committee in New Delhi. This time it’s a dual theme-- Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and ODOP. The tableau is being made in Delhi ahead of the R-Day parade
Published on Jan 22, 2022 11:59 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal & Sudhir Kumar