<p>BJP has fielded Syed Shahezadi, a young Muslim woman, as its candidate from Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad, to take on AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in the December 7 state assembly election.</p>

<p>A novice in electoral politics, Shahezadi, who was a leader of ABVP, student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, hails from Adilabad in Telangana.</p>

<p>Shahezadi, who completed post-graduation in political science from Osmania University in Hyderabad, alleged there has been no improvement in the condition of common people in Chandrayangutta and other parts of old city of Hyderabad though All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has been elected for the past two decades.</p>

<p>She said she can work for people's welfare by implementing central government schemes.</p>

<p>"I am asking what did he (Owaisi) do for you (people)? What change has come in your lives? What about your children's education and how many of them are employed? How many have become engineers and doctors," she told PTI.</p>

<p>A communal atmosphere prevailed in the old city of Hyderabad, AIMIM's stronghold, and there has been no change in the lives of common people, including ordinary Muslims, with AIMIM at the helm, she alleged.</p>

<p>Owaisi has been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.</p>

<p>Dismissing allegations that BJP is a communal party, she said such a mindset has been established that the organisation was opposed to Muslims.</p>

<p>It is the BJP which made the late APJ Abdul Kalam President of India and BJP's Muslim leaders like Sikandar Bhakt, Najma Heptulla and M J Akbar held important positions, she said.</p>

<p>Budget has been increased for Maulana Azad Urdu University in Hyderabad and for madrassas in Uttar Pradesh under a BJP government, she claimed.</p>

<p>Having studied in government schools and colleges, Shahezadi said, she understands poverty, public issues and the issues concerning Muslim women.</p>

<p>She thanked BJP's leadership for making her the candidate though she does not have money power.</p>

<p>"If there is any party which encourages youth, it is BJP. It is BJP which encourages Muslims also. Because, I am the example," she said.</p>

<p>BJP's Telangana unit president K Laxman said Shahezadi can expose the "misdeeds of AIMIM and how they are exploiting poor Muslims."</p>

<p>Shahezadi hailed Modi government's decision on triple talaq issue and she wants to work for empowerment of the Muslim women, he said.</p>

<p>Laxman said she was keen on contesting from Chandrayangutta which the party considered and decided to field her from the segment.</p>


BJP has fielded Syed Shahezadi, a young Muslim woman, as its candidate from Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad, to take on AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in the December 7 state assembly election.

BJP has fielded Syed Shahezadi, a young Muslim woman, as its candidate from Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad, to take on AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in the December 7 state assembly election. A novice in electoral politics, Shahezadi, who was a leader of ABVP, student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, hails from Adilabad in Telangana. Shahezadi, who completed post-graduation in political science from Osmania University in Hyderabad, alleged there has been no improvement in the condition of common people in Chandrayangutta and other parts of old city of Hyderabad though All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has been elected for the past two decades. She said she can work for people's welfare by implementing central government schemes. "I am asking what did he (Owaisi) do for you (people)? What change has come in your lives? What about your children's education and how many of them are employed? How many have become engineers and doctors," she told PTI. A communal atmosphere prevailed in the old city of Hyderabad, AIMIM's stronghold, and there has been no change in the lives of common people, including ordinary Muslims, with AIMIM at the helm, she alleged. Owaisi has been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. Dismissing allegations that BJP is a communal party, she said such a mindset has been established that the organisation was opposed to Muslims. It is the BJP which made the late APJ Abdul Kalam President of India and BJP's Muslim leaders like Sikandar Bhakt, Najma Heptulla and M J Akbar held important positions, she said. Budget has been increased for Maulana Azad Urdu University in Hyderabad and for madrassas in Uttar Pradesh under a BJP government, she claimed. Having studied in government schools and colleges, Shahezadi said, she understands poverty, public issues and the issues concerning Muslim women. She thanked BJP's leadership for making her the candidate though she does not have money power. "If there is any party which encourages youth, it is BJP. It is BJP which encourages Muslims also. Because, I am the example," she said. BJP's Telangana unit president K Laxman said Shahezadi can expose the "misdeeds of AIMIM and how they are exploiting poor Muslims." Shahezadi hailed Modi government's decision on triple talaq issue and she wants to work for empowerment of the Muslim women, he said. Laxman said she was keen on contesting from Chandrayangutta which the party considered and decided to field her from the segment.

Telangana polls: BJP fields Muslim woman candidate against Akbaruddin Owaisi

<p>The BJP-led government in Goa&nbsp;headed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar won its crucial floor test today at a special Assembly session.</p>

<p>Twenty-three MLAs supported Parrikar, two more than the halfway mark in the 40-member Goa Assembly.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We have proved before the people of India, we had support of 23 and we proved it on the floor of house: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM <a href="https://t.co/Qkr1JiaADd">pic.twitter.com/Qkr1JiaADd</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/842271768102424576">March 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Digvijaya&#39;s claims that they have numbers, debunked. Right from the beginning they didnt have numbers: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM <a href="https://t.co/ZQ8O4VK0Qi">pic.twitter.com/ZQ8O4VK0Qi</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/842271975653298176">March 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Parrikar had stepped down as the union defence minister to be sworn in as chief minister of the state for a fourth time Tuesday evening, along with nine other ministers.</p>

<p>Parrikar&#39;s swearing-in ceremony was attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and union minister Nitin Gadkari.</p>

<p>It was actually the Congress that had won the most seats -- 17 -- in the Goa elections; the BJP had won only 13 but it was quicker to tie up with smaller parties and independents.</p>

<p>The Congress turned to the Supreme Court, asking that Parrikar&#39;s swearing-in be stayed. But the Supreme Court refused, saying instead that a floor test be held Tuesday. It added that no other business save for the floor test was to be conducted Thursday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The BJP had claimed the support of three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, and that of three independents.</p>

<p>All of them voted in favour of Parrikar today.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from ANI)</p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


He needed a total of 21 yes votes in the 40-member assembly

The BJP-led government in Goa headed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar won its crucial floor test today at a special Assembly session. Twenty-three MLAs supported Parrikar, two more than the halfway mark in the 40-member Goa Assembly. We have proved before the people of India, we had support of 23 and we proved it on the floor of house: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM pic.twitter.com/Qkr1JiaADd — ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017 × Digvijaya's claims that they have numbers, debunked. Right from the beginning they didnt have numbers: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM pic.twitter.com/ZQ8O4VK0Qi — ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017 × Parrikar had stepped down as the union defence minister to be sworn in as chief minister of the state for a fourth time Tuesday evening, along with nine other ministers. Parrikar's swearing-in ceremony was attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and union minister Nitin Gadkari. It was actually the Congress that had won the most seats -- 17 -- in the Goa elections; the BJP had won only 13 but it was quicker to tie up with smaller parties and independents. The Congress turned to the Supreme Court, asking that Parrikar's swearing-in be stayed. But the Supreme Court refused, saying instead that a floor test be held Tuesday. It added that no other business save for the floor test was to be conducted Thursday. The BJP had claimed the support of three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, and that of three independents. All of them voted in favour of Parrikar today. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Parrikar wins Goa trust vote with support of 23 MLAs

<p>Results of most of the exit polls, which came out Thursday evening, have unanimously predicted that BJP is ahead in three states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Goa with some even pointing to&nbsp;a close fight between Congress and BJP in Manipur.</p>

<p>Punjab is the only outlier&nbsp;where the ruling SAD-BJP allaince is headed for a rout. Both the Congress and the new entrant to Punjab state elections, Aam Aadmi Party, are going neck and neck.</p>

<p>The big prize among all five states is Uttar Pradesh, which saw a high decibel campaigning by the BJP with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading from the front. And if exit polls are to be believed the BJP will emerge as the single largest party with two pollsters -- News 24 Today&#39;s Chanakya and India Today-Axis -- &nbsp;predicting a clear win for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Today&#39;s Chanakya gave 267-303 seats whereas Axis has given a range of 251-279 for the BJP. &nbsp;</p>

<p>This will be a huge jump in the BJP&#39;s seat tally from the 2012 assembly elections when it got a meagre 47 seats. But, experts have said that the 2017 elections should be seen in the context of BJP&#39;s landslide in the 2014 General Elections when it swept UP winning 73 of the 80 seats. That would translate into 328 seats out of a total of 403 seats for the BJP in the assembly elections.</p>

<p>The Congress-SP alliance, most polls predict, will occupy the second spot. The India Today-Axis poll gave 88-112 seats to the alliance and ABP-CSDS predicted that the duo will get anywhere between &nbsp;156-169 seats in the hotly contested elections.</p>

<p>Almost all the pollsters have put BSP at the third spot with a broad range of 28-93 seats.</p>

<p>The SP president Akhilesh Yadav has indicated that he might be interested in some sort of political realignment after the results in order to keep the BJP at bay. He said that he doesn&#39;t want a President&#39;s rule in the state as that would mean BJP ruling the state through a remote control</p>

<p>In Punjab, the Amarinder Singh-led Congress is pitted against the Aam Aadmi Party in a close fight with India Today-Axis poll predicting a majority for the Congress with 62-71 seats out of a total of 117 assembly segments. The India TV-CVoter poll pointed to an AAP victory with 59-67 seats. AAP is seen sweeping the entire Malwa region in Punjab, an area from where it got its four Member of Parliaments in the 2014 General Elections.</p>

<p>In Uttarakhand, which saw a lot of political upheaval in the run-up to the polls, almost all the pollsters showed that the BJP is ahead with India TV-CVoter showing that both parties are tied at 29-35 seats.</p>

<p>BJP might retain Goa with three exit polls giving it 15-22 seats in the 40-member Goa assembly.</p>

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<p>Exit Polls (Uttar Pradesh) (DNA)</p>
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<p>Exit Polls (Punjab) (DNA)</p>
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<p>Exit Polls (Uttarakhand) (DNA)</p>
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<p>Exit Polls (Goa) (DNA)</p>
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<p>Exit Polls (Manipur) (DNA)</p>
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<p>(WION with inputs from agencies)</p>


Results of most of the exit polls, which came out Thursday evening, have unanimously predicted that BJP is ahead in three states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Goa with some even pointing to a close fight between Congress and BJP in Manipur. Punjab is the only outlier where the ruling SAD-BJP allaince is headed for a rout. Both the Congress and the new entrant to Punjab state elections, Aam Aadmi Party, are going neck and neck. The big prize among all five states is Uttar Pradesh, which saw a high decibel campaigning by the BJP with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading from the front. And if exit polls are to be believed the BJP will emerge as the single largest party with two pollsters -- News 24 Today's Chanakya and India Today-Axis -- predicting a clear win for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Today's Chanakya gave 267-303 seats whereas Axis has given a range of 251-279 for the BJP. This will be a huge jump in the BJP's seat tally from the 2012 assembly elections when it got a meagre 47 seats. But, experts have said that the 2017 elections should be seen in the context of BJP's landslide in the 2014 General Elections when it swept UP winning 73 of the 80 seats. That would translate into 328 seats out of a total of 403 seats for the BJP in the assembly elections. The Congress-SP alliance, most polls predict, will occupy the second spot. The India Today-Axis poll gave 88-112 seats to the alliance and ABP-CSDS predicted that the duo will get anywhere between 156-169 seats in the hotly contested elections. Almost all the pollsters have put BSP at the third spot with a broad range of 28-93 seats. The SP president Akhilesh Yadav has indicated that he might be interested in some sort of political realignment after the results in order to keep the BJP at bay. He said that he doesn't want a President's rule in the state as that would mean BJP ruling the state through a remote control In Punjab, the Amarinder Singh-led Congress is pitted against the Aam Aadmi Party in a close fight with India Today-Axis poll predicting a majority for the Congress with 62-71 seats out of a total of 117 assembly segments. The India TV-CVoter poll pointed to an AAP victory with 59-67 seats. AAP is seen sweeping the entire Malwa region in Punjab, an area from where it got its four Member of Parliaments in the 2014 General Elections. In Uttarakhand, which saw a lot of political upheaval in the run-up to the polls, almost all the pollsters showed that the BJP is ahead with India TV-CVoter showing that both parties are tied at 29-35 seats. BJP might retain Goa with three exit polls giving it 15-22 seats in the 40-member Goa assembly. Exit Polls (Uttar Pradesh) (DNA) × Exit Polls (Punjab) (DNA) × Exit Polls (Uttarakhand) (DNA) × Exit Polls (Goa) (DNA) × Exit Polls (Manipur) (DNA) × (WION with inputs from agencies)

India Assembly Elections 2017 Exit Polls: BJP has advantage in 3 states

<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi out-campaigned all-comers in the 2014 general election but, as he faces his biggest mid-term test, he is up against a rival determined to beat him at his own game.</p>

<p>In Uttar Pradesh his opponent, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, has been repackaged as a youthful and media-savvy go-getter who seeks to steal a unique selling point of Modi&#39;s - development.</p>

<p>&quot;I am taking it a bit beyond Modi: I work,&quot; Yadav told Reuters in an interview in Lucknow, capital of the state of 220 million that is holding the biggest democratic election anywhere in the world this year.</p>

<p>&quot;My work speaks for itself. Modi&#39;s empty promises do not,&quot; said the 43-year-old leader of the Samajwadi, or Socialist, Party.</p>

<p>Yadav entered the vast election, being held over the course of a month, as a narrow favourite: He had just emerged from a power struggle with his domineering father and struck a pre-poll alliance with the Indian National Congress.</p>

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<h5>While Modi excels as a stump speaker who can deliver an hour-long address without notes, Akhilesh has sought to connect with the youth vote via new media, taking personal control over his social media accounts and doing a Facebook Live with a TV journalist</h5>
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<p>While Modi excels as a stump speaker who can deliver an hour-long address without notes, Akhilesh has sought to connect with the youth vote via new media, taking personal control over his social media accounts and doing a Facebook Live with one of India&#39;s best-known TV journalists.</p>

<p>He has even climbed on a bicycle - his party&#39;s symbol - for another prime-time interview that gave him a chance to showcase the newly landscaped riverfront in the state capital.</p>

<p>Yadav&#39;s campaign has been backed by his wife Dimple, a member of parliament, who has courted women voters and helped create an image as a political &#39;power couple&#39;.</p>

<p>Throughout, Yadav has stayed firmly on message. Asked about endemic crime, he says he has set up a new police hotline that is ensuring quicker response times.</p>

<p>On developing his poor state where incomes average less than $750 a year, he highlights his achievements in building an expressway to Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, and a new city metro in Lucknow.</p>

<p><strong>Winning and losing</strong></p>

<p>Yadav became the youngest-ever chief minister of Uttar Pradesh with a slim mandate, winning just 29 percent in the 2012 state poll.</p>

<p>But in the general election two years later he was swept away by a Modi &#39;wave&#39; as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 42 percent of the vote in the battleground state.</p>

<p>Yadav, who received a university education in Australia yet became typecast as the ineffectual scion of a political patriarch, decided he needed a makeover.</p>

<p>&quot;It was at this point Yadav took a cue from Modi&#39;s image as a technology-loving modern man,&quot; said R.K. Mishra, an independent political analyst in Lucknow.</p>

<p>Yadav commissioned the construction of a mansion behind his old party headquarters to operate as his campaign &quot;war room&quot;.</p>

<p>He met two dozen Indian and international political scientists, and roped in Harvard graduates and marketing gurus from Mumbai. They set up a big data operation - cloning the backroom setup used by Modi in his own rise to national power.</p>

<p>&quot;The recruitment brief was clear: Everyone working in the war room should be in their thirties and have family in Uttar Pradesh,&quot; said Aashish Yadav, a campaign manager who previously worked at BBC Media Action, a development charity.</p>

<p>Aashish Yadav manages a team of 100 young men and women who compose jingles as well as messages that are circulated via WhatsApp and community radio services. &quot;Modi&#39;s campaign looks jaded compared to our blitzkrieg,&quot; said Aashish.</p>

<p><strong>Gangster rule</strong></p>

<p>It&#39;s been a tough sell for a party that under founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh&#39;s father, was criticised for breakdown of law and order. Many resented corruption that favoured the Yadav community - a &quot;backward&quot; caste that makes up 9 percent of the population of Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>&quot;Akhilesh had to dismantle the existing perception about himself and his party,&quot; said one close aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.</p>

<p>By teaming up with Rahul Gandhi of Congress - another forty-something politician - Yadav hopes to prevail in the three-cornered contest with the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>&quot;There is a great deal of ease between the two leaders and this is making Modi nervous,&quot; said an aide to Gandhi, who is the son, grandson and great grandson of Indian prime ministers.</p>

<p>Pre-election polls put the Yadav-Gandhi alliance and the BJP in a close race, but no surveys are allowed during voting held over seven stages. Results are due on March 11.</p>

<p>Gandhi and Yadav have both turned for advice to Prashant Kishor, the strategist who stage-managed Modi&#39;s triumphant 2014 march on New Delhi.</p>

<p>Kishor later switched sides to help a similar opposition alliance defeat the BJP in Bihar, another big northern state, in late 2015. He now divides his time between advising Congress and Samajwadi.</p>

<p>The BJP&#39;s state leader in Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, dismisses the alliance as a fiasco and called the war room a poor imitation.</p>

<p>&quot;Yadav and Gandhi both lack imagination,&quot; he told Reuters. &quot;Being Modi is different from being like Modi.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


The Uttar Pradesh chief minister is seeking to steal a unique selling point of Modi's -- development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi out-campaigned all-comers in the 2014 general election but, as he faces his biggest mid-term test, he is up against a rival determined to beat him at his own game. In Uttar Pradesh his opponent, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, has been repackaged as a youthful and media-savvy go-getter who seeks to steal a unique selling point of Modi's - development. "I am taking it a bit beyond Modi: I work," Yadav told Reuters in an interview in Lucknow, capital of the state of 220 million that is holding the biggest democratic election anywhere in the world this year. "My work speaks for itself. Modi's empty promises do not," said the 43-year-old leader of the Samajwadi, or Socialist, Party. Yadav entered the vast election, being held over the course of a month, as a narrow favourite: He had just emerged from a power struggle with his domineering father and struck a pre-poll alliance with the Indian National Congress. While Modi excels as a stump speaker who can deliver an hour-long address without notes, Akhilesh has sought to connect with the youth vote via new media, taking personal control over his social media accounts and doing a Facebook Live with a TV journalist × While Modi excels as a stump speaker who can deliver an hour-long address without notes, Akhilesh has sought to connect with the youth vote via new media, taking personal control over his social media accounts and doing a Facebook Live with one of India's best-known TV journalists. He has even climbed on a bicycle - his party's symbol - for another prime-time interview that gave him a chance to showcase the newly landscaped riverfront in the state capital. Yadav's campaign has been backed by his wife Dimple, a member of parliament, who has courted women voters and helped create an image as a political 'power couple'. Throughout, Yadav has stayed firmly on message. Asked about endemic crime, he says he has set up a new police hotline that is ensuring quicker response times. On developing his poor state where incomes average less than $750 a year, he highlights his achievements in building an expressway to Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, and a new city metro in Lucknow. Winning and losing Yadav became the youngest-ever chief minister of Uttar Pradesh with a slim mandate, winning just 29 percent in the 2012 state poll. But in the general election two years later he was swept away by a Modi 'wave' as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 42 percent of the vote in the battleground state. Yadav, who received a university education in Australia yet became typecast as the ineffectual scion of a political patriarch, decided he needed a makeover. "It was at this point Yadav took a cue from Modi's image as a technology-loving modern man," said R.K. Mishra, an independent political analyst in Lucknow. Yadav commissioned the construction of a mansion behind his old party headquarters to operate as his campaign "war room". He met two dozen Indian and international political scientists, and roped in Harvard graduates and marketing gurus from Mumbai. They set up a big data operation - cloning the backroom setup used by Modi in his own rise to national power. "The recruitment brief was clear: Everyone working in the war room should be in their thirties and have family in Uttar Pradesh," said Aashish Yadav, a campaign manager who previously worked at BBC Media Action, a development charity. Aashish Yadav manages a team of 100 young men and women who compose jingles as well as messages that are circulated via WhatsApp and community radio services. "Modi's campaign looks jaded compared to our blitzkrieg," said Aashish. Gangster rule It's been a tough sell for a party that under founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh's father, was criticised for breakdown of law and order. Many resented corruption that favoured the Yadav community - a "backward" caste that makes up 9 percent of the population of Uttar Pradesh. "Akhilesh had to dismantle the existing perception about himself and his party," said one close aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity. By teaming up with Rahul Gandhi of Congress - another forty-something politician - Yadav hopes to prevail in the three-cornered contest with the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. "There is a great deal of ease between the two leaders and this is making Modi nervous," said an aide to Gandhi, who is the son, grandson and great grandson of Indian prime ministers. Pre-election polls put the Yadav-Gandhi alliance and the BJP in a close race, but no surveys are allowed during voting held over seven stages. Results are due on March 11. Gandhi and Yadav have both turned for advice to Prashant Kishor, the strategist who stage-managed Modi's triumphant 2014 march on New Delhi. Kishor later switched sides to help a similar opposition alliance defeat the BJP in Bihar, another big northern state, in late 2015. He now divides his time between advising Congress and Samajwadi. The BJP's state leader in Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, dismisses the alliance as a fiasco and called the war room a poor imitation. "Yadav and Gandhi both lack imagination," he told Reuters. "Being Modi is different from being like Modi." (Reuters)

UP elections: Akhilesh takes Modi on at his own game

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Telangana polls: BJP fields Muslim woman candidate against Akbaruddin Owaisi

Parrikar wins Goa trust vote with support of 23 MLAs

India Assembly Elections 2017 Exit Polls: BJP has advantage in 3 states

UP elections: Akhilesh takes Modi on at his own game