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
From barren & dry to lush green: Firozabad dist admin, locals develop micro-forest along Lucknow-Agra e-way
The idea behind this micro-forest -- between Firozabad and Agra -- was conceived by the then Firozabad district magistrate Neha Sharma.
Updated on Jun 04, 2023 11:25 PM IST
As Jayant Chaudhary ‘flirts’ with Cong, RLD-SP alliance hits a rough patch?
Scrapping reports of a rift, the RLD leadership has said that the civic poll has a different nature and parties need to satisfy the political ambitions of their local candidates.
Updated on May 22, 2023 05:59 PM IST
With an eye on expansion, SP begins spade work for MP polls
While the party has set up its organisational structure in MP and is working on candidates’ selection, it has begun dharna-demonstration against the MP BJP government for visibility among the people of Madhya Pradesh.
Updated on Apr 12, 2023 11:17 PM IST
In run-up to 2024, SP eyes strong booth-level presence
Akhilesh Yadav has announced that the party must have a strong booth-level organisational set-up to defeat the BJP in the state in the upcoming polls
Published on Mar 28, 2023 12:58 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
Congress must support regional parties to defeat BJP: Akhilesh Yadav
Akhilesh Yadav’s comments came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after being convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
Updated on Mar 26, 2023 01:59 AM IST
Cong should back regional parties to defeat BJP in 2024 LS poll: Akhilesh
In a statement, the Samajwadi Party chief suggested all these anti-BJP regional political outfits should come together
Updated on Mar 25, 2023 11:32 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
President Droupadi Murmu says Uttar Pradesh’s holy places focal point of India’s spiritual strength
Our President symbolises ‘women power’, says Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel, CM Yogi Adityanath congratulates Droupadi Murmu on behalf of ‘25 crore people of state’
Published on Feb 12, 2023 11:50 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
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
Published on Feb 11, 2023 02:00 AM IST
Pankaj 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.
Published on Feb 04, 2023 12:43 AM IST
Pankaj 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
Published on Jan 31, 2023 11:35 PM IST
Pankaj 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.
Updated on Jan 31, 2023 01:07 AM IST
Pankaj 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
Published on Jan 29, 2023 11:44 PM IST
Pankaj 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
Updated on Jan 29, 2023 07:21 PM IST
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.
Published on Jan 29, 2023 12:38 AM IST
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
Updated on Jan 28, 2023 05:45 PM IST
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
Published on Jan 21, 2023 12:09 AM IST
Pankaj 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
Published on Jan 18, 2023 12:51 AM IST
Pankaj 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
Updated on Dec 09, 2022 11:29 PM IST
Pankaj 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
Published on Dec 09, 2022 11:06 PM IST
Pankaj 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
Published on Dec 09, 2022 12:51 AM IST
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
Updated on Dec 08, 2022 09:49 PM IST
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
Updated on Dec 09, 2022 01:02 AM IST
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%.
Updated on Nov 29, 2022 01:12 AM IST
Pankaj 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
Published on Nov 15, 2022 11:57 PM IST
Pankaj 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.
Updated on Nov 11, 2022 12:40 AM IST
Pankaj 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.
Published on Nov 10, 2022 10:47 PM IST
Pankaj 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
Updated on Nov 10, 2022 04:04 PM IST
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
Published on Nov 09, 2022 11:12 PM IST
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.
Updated on Nov 06, 2022 03:42 AM IST
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.
Updated on Nov 01, 2022 12:33 AM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Lucknow
