Akhilesh goes biking in Lucknow, plays cricket
Lucknow, June 4: Having vacated his sprawling official bungalow day back following the Supreme Court's orders, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday hit the streets of the state capital on his high-end sports bicycle and went straight to the Gomti Rover Front, a dream project of his tenure, which now stands stalled.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief pedaled his way to the river front and played cricket for around 20 minutes there.
Not only did he give the youngsters a run for their money, hitting some big shots, the 45-year-old also took pot shots at the Yogi Adityanath government and expressed hope that now that his official residence is vacated the state BJP government would do something meaningful for the people.
He announced he would soon start assessing the progress of the projects started during the SP regime between 2012-17. Yadav clarified that as mentioned in some media reports that he had taken with him some 'foreign plants' from his official 4, Vikramaditya Marg residence, the plants were his and he is one who cares for the environment.
"I am a votary of greenery and will continue to do my bit to enhance green cover around us," he said. He along with his wife and three children has been staying at the four suites at the VVIP guest house, a few hundred meters from his now vacated house.
He is likely to shift to the Ansal's township at Shaheed Path, where two expensive villas are being merged to accommodate his office and residence, an official said.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
