Samajwadi Party worker allegedly kills cab driver over Rs 300; violent clashes in Kanpur

Kanpur:  More trouble for the Akhilesh Yadav-government in Uttar Pradesh which has made law-and-order its top priority.

In the Pankhi area of Kanpur, a taxi driver, Ankit Yadav, was allegedly beaten to death today by a local Samajwadi Party (SP) worker Prashant Tiwari after he refused to pay Rs 300.

The two had an argument over Mr Yadav parking his cab too close to the Mr Tiwari's hotel and then subsequently refusing to pay a parking fee, that Mr Tiwari demanded. In the altercation that followed, Mr Yadav was allegedly beaten with a stick by Mr Tiwari. He was rushed to  hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Ankit Yadav's death triggered angry reactions from his relatives who torched not just Mr Tiwari's hotel but even shops adjacent to it.

The police had to be called in and had to resort to lathicharge to control the violent mob.

A case of murder has been registered against Mr Tiwari who is missing.

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Samajwadi to stick by govt if Mamata pulls out, says leader

New Delhi:  With Trinamool Congress turning on the heat on the issue of rail fare hike, the Samajwadi Party has offered solace to the Congress, saying its outside support to the coalition will continue.

"If Trinamool pulls out, our outside support will continue to the government," Samajwadi Party MP Shailendra Kumar told reporters today.

He dismissed speculation that the Samajwadi Party will be part of the Union Cabinet, saying, "There is no such thing."

Asked if the Congress and the SP were in talks on the issue, he said, "No talks are going on."

Mr Kumar's reaction came a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi sent Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal to the swearing-in of Akhilesh Yadav as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

It was a subtle signal from Gandhi that the Congress would like to bank on the support of the SP which has 22 members in the Lok Sabha.

The Trinamool Congress, which is the second-largest ally of the Congress, has 19 members in the Lower House.

Commenting on the Union Budget for 2012-13, Kumar said, "They have not done much for students and farmers and have not given much attention on the commodities used by poor people... It is a mixed budget".

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Congress now reaching out to Samajwadi Party?

New Delhi:  The Congress is facing a tough time because of its allies. Both Trinamool and the DMK are squeezing the Congress with their own agendas.

While Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool wants roll back on train fares and deletion of reference to the National Counter Terrorism Centre from the President's speech, the DMK is demanding that the government should make its stand clear on Sri Lanka.

At a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister the day before, Ms Banerjee was missing - she chose to fly to Nagpur instead to attend a wedding. The fact that she deputed a first-time MP, Ratna De Nag, and not one of her senior ministers or leaders was seen as a flat snub to the Congress. Similarly, The DMK, which is a senior partner in the coalition at the Centre, has reiterated that it could pull out of the government if its demand is ignored.

"That's something I alone can't decide. We would discuss and decide in our executive," said DMK chief M Karunanidhi.

After being put in a tight corner by its allies, the Congress has decided to accelerate its courtship of Mulayam Singh Yadav as a possible replacement for Ms Banerjee, who has whipped the government into submission on many occasions because her 19 Lok Sabha MPs make her essential to the survival of the coalition. Mr Yadav's 22 MPs make him a viable option and he has often rescued the government by voting in its favour on crucial legislation. So, senior Congress leaders like Pawan Bansal and Motilal Vora will attend the swearing-in today of his son, Akhilesh, as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

So what are the possible scenarios facing the Congress which has been pushed to the wall. If the government rolls back the fare hike, it manages to survive; if there is no roll back, the Trinamool and a united Opposition will vote against the government. And if Trinamool quits, the Congress is banking on the support of the Samajwadi Party from outside.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is set to take oath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh today for the first time, after his party gained absolute majority by winning 224 seats in the 403-member Assembly. Thirty-eight-year-old Akhilesh will be the state's youngest chief minister and his Cabinet is likely to be a mix of youth and experience.

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In the mood for Akhilesh, Samajwadi Party agrees he will be chief minister of Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow:  As the votes for the Uttar Pradesh elections were being counted, Mulayam Singh Yadav's two young grand-daughters were asked who would be chief minister. "Daadu," they cooed, referring to Mulayam. The political instincts of the youngest generation of the Yadav family apparently need some fine-tuning.  
It is their father, 38-year-old Akhilesh, who will tomorrow be declared the head of the new government, sources have told NDTV. His father has established that his own political acumen remains top-grade - in a matter of three days, he has wooed a faction of the party that was opposed to a rookie as chief minister into consensus.
So Akhilesh's name reportedly will be proposed at a meeting of all its elected representatives to the Assembly by Azam Khan. Before Holi, Mr Khan was among those who reportedly did not share the enthusiasm of most other party members who said it was time for the younger Yadav to take charge. The swearing-in will most likely be on Monday. 
There were signs today of things to come - it was Akhilesh who addressed the press amid a continuum of acts of violence by his party workers in different parts of the state. "We will throw people out of the party if necessary to ensure that fair inquiries can be held," he said, with the authority of a leader with weighty mandate. "I've asked our workers to remain calm and polite even if members from other parties try to provoke or instigate them," he added.
The zero-tolerance for goonda-ism or hooliganism was emphasized by Akhilesh through his long campaign. Pedaling his party symbol, the cycle, he wheeled his party into a whopping 226 seats - the biggest total in two decades in UP for any political party. His youth helped testify for the change he promised - "Ummeed ki cycle" became his mantra. In a complete reversal of earlier agendas, he announced laptops for all college-going students. Three years ago, before the 2009 General Elections, the SP had said it was against the use of English and the use of computers. Voters seemed charmed by his sincerity - he would often hop off his cycle and talk to them for hours, spending as much time at these roadside chats as at the massive rallies that formally requested the people to vote for his father aka "netaji."
His ferocious share of the vote came at the cost of another young leader being projected as Generation Next. 41-year-old Rahul Gandhi took the responsibility for managing the Congress campaign. When the results were declared, he took the responsibility for a lost opportunity. Exhausted by the corruption and misadministration of Mayawati, UP sought a change in record numbers, its turnout through the different days of voting a healthy indicator of a state looking for an option. Despite Mr Gandhi's committed and energetic campaign, the Congress was dismissed as an unsuitable option, placing fourth. It added just six seats to the 22 it won in the last election.  
In his implausibly large victory, Akhilesh has shown humility. "Someone comes first, another person comes second," he said. His experience on the wrong side of the finish line is not inadequate. In 2007, his father was evicted from office by Mayawati, who merged UP's caste equations into a Perfect 10 formula. Then in 2009, Akhilesh's wife Dimple contested a by-election for the Lok Sabha from Ferozabad in UP - a seat her husband had won and vacated just five months earlier. The SP took the voters for granted; the Congress turned the election into a prestige point. Mr Gandhi led a pantheon of leaders to campaign for actor-politician Raj Babbar, a former Samajwadi party man. Embarrassed and bitter, Akhilesh had blamed Mr Gandhi for his wife's defeat.
The political maturity that has been visible during his campaign will be challenged by the state he leads. UP struggles with poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment, crime and corruption. While he deals with that dire agenda, his father is expected to push the party's fortunes in Delhi. In its alliance with Mamata Banerjee at the centre, the Congress is beginning to feel that it isn't getting a great bargain for the MPs she brings to the UPA coalition. Mulayam's renewed strength in UP makes him an attractive option. His numbers in UP will give him more Rajya Sabha seats, where the UPA is in a minority. With general elections scheduled for 2014, Mulayam is expected by his party to work on the bigger picture.
For Akhilesh, it is the details that will count. He has been handed his state; what he does with it could make history - good or bad.
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Exit polls predict Samajwadi Party win in UP

New Delhi:  Exit polls on television channels today projected Samajwadi Party emerging as the single largest party in Uttar Pradesh assembly poll with one of them giving it a clear majority while Congress is set to have a clear edge in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

In Goa, one of the channels has predicted an edge to BJP over ruling Congress.

In widely-watched Uttar Pradesh, ruling BSP appears to be taking a knock while BJP is projected to nudge Congress to the fourth place.

Star News-AC Neilson exit poll showed SP emerging as the single largest party with 183 seats, followed by BSP with 83 seats.

According to it, BJP would win 71 seats, Congress 51 and its ally RLD 11 seats. Independents and others are shown victorious in two seats each.

Headlines Today exit polls showed SP getting between 195 and 210 seats followed by BSP with 88-98 seats. It showed BJP getting 50-56 seats followed by Cong-RLD combine with 38-42.

The exit poll showed Independents and others securing 12-18 seats.

India TV-C-Voter exit poll showed SP emerging as the single largest party with 137-145 seats, closely followed by BSP with 122-130 seats.

It showed BJP winning 79-87 seats, Congress-RLD winning 39-55 seats and Others getting 2-10 seats.

Exit poll by News24 and Today's Chanakya showed SP winning 185 seats with an error margin of 18 seats.

They predicted BSP to win 85 seats, BJP 55 and Congress 55. The error margin for the three parties was 15 seats. Others were shown getting 23 seats with an error margin of 17.

In Goa, the India TV-C-Voter exit poll projected BJP getting 20 seats followed by Congress with 17. Others were shown emerging victorious in three seats.

The same team forecast a Congress victory in Punjab (65) followed by the Akali Dal-BJP combine winning 47 and others getting five.

In Uttarakhand, the News24-Today's Chankya gave Congress an edge with 30 seats and the BJP getting 28. Others were given 12 seats.

The same team forecast a win for the Congress in Punjab with the party getting 60 seats followed by the Akali Dal-BJP combine getting 52. Others were projected to win five seats.

In Manipur the team forecast a Congress win with 25 seats followed by NCP (10 seats) and Trinamool Congress getting nine seats.

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