BJP names candidates for UP parliamentary, assembly by-polls
Lucknow, May 8: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced its candidates for the Kairana parliamentary seat and the Noorpur assembly seat, where polling is scheduled to be held on May 28.
The Kairana seat in western Uttar Pradesh fell vacant after the death of incumbent MP and veteran BJP leader Hukum Singh while the by-poll in Noorpur in Bijnore district was necessitated after the sitting legislator Lokendra Singh Chauhan of the BJP died in a car accident in February.
A BJP spokesman said Avani Singh, widow of Chauhan, is the party candidate from Noorpur while Mriganka Singh, daughter of Hukum Singh, has been named from Kairana.
Both the candidates are likely to file their nomination papers within the next two days, a party leader told IANS.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Naimul Hasan as its candidate from Noorpur while former MP Tabassum Hasan is the joint candidate of the opposition in the Kairana parliamentary seat.
She will be contesting on the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket.
The Samajwadi Party and Ajit Singh's RLD have thrashed out a formula here to combine the traditional arch rivals -- Jats and Muslims -- to oust the BJP.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress are not contesting the polls and are likely to extend their support to the opposition candidates.
The votes will be counted on May 31.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
