Rahul Gandhi's yatra has no value, says BS Yediyurappa
Ramanagara, Oct 9: Former Chief Minister and BJP stalwart B S Yediyurappa on Sunday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra' has no value as his party would never come to power in poll-bound Karnataka.
"Your (Rahul Gandhi) party's presence is dwindling across India barring one or two places. In Karnataka, it is somehow breathing. So, he (Rahul Gandhi) is talking whatever comes to his mind, but that is of no use," Yediyurappa told reporters in Harisandra village in the district.
He was replying to a query on the possible effect of Bharat Jodo Yatra on the Assembly elections next year.
"Congress will never come to power in Karnataka. The State visit and Bharat Jodo Yatra have no value," he added.
The BJP leader said Priyanka Gandhi had toured Uttar Pradesh during the Assembly elections there and fielded many women candidates, yet the Congress could not win two seats.
Regarding former chief minister and Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah's charge that the BJP indulged in politics of hatred after the name of Tipu Express was changed to Wodeyar Express, Yediyurappa said Siddaramaiah is fond of appeasing Muslims which is why he spoke like that.
"However, the people of the country and the State have welcomed the decision of changing the name of the train. No one is hurt for changing the name of the train barring a few people like Siddaramaiah," the BJP strongman claimed.
The Railway Board on Saturday renamed the Tipu Express which runs between Bengaluru and Mysuru as Wodeyar Express.
Yediyurappa said he and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai would tour across Karnataka from Tuesday onwards, covering 50 Assembly constituencies in the State.
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UP SIR: Over 84 lakh voters added in final list, total electorate rises to 13.39 crore
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh's electorate grew by over 84 lakh to 13.39 crore after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to the final voter list published on Friday.
Addressing a press conference at the Lok Bhawan Media Centre here, Uttar Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the SIR exercise was conducted from October 27, 2025, to April 10, 2026, covering all 75 districts, 403 assembly constituencies and polling stations across the state.
He said the 166-day exercise was carried out with the contribution of 75 District Election Officers (DEOs), 403 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 12,758 Assistant EROs, 18,026 BLO supervisors and 1,77,516 Booth Level Officers (BLOs). In addition, 5,82,877 booth-level agents of recognised political parties and crores of voters extended cooperation.
Print, electronic and digital media also played a key role in awareness efforts, he added.
Rinwa said the draft electoral roll published on January 6, 2026, had a total of 12,55,56,025 voters, including 6.88 crore male voters, 5.67 crore female voters and 4,119 third gender voters.
The number of voters in the 18-19 age group stood at 3,33,981, while the gender ratio was 824 female voters per 1,000 male voters.
The final electoral roll published on April 10 shows the total number of voters at 13,39,84,792, he said.
Of these, male voters number 7,30,71,071 (around 54 per cent), female voters 6,09,09,525 (45.46 per cent) and third gender voters 4,206 (less than 0.01 per cent).
The number of voters in the 18-19 age group has risen to 17,63,360, accounting for 1.32 per cent of the total electorate. The gender ratio has also improved to 834 female voters per 1,000 male voters.
Comparing the draft and final rolls, Rinwa said the total increase in the number of voters is 84,28,767. This includes an increase of 42,27,902 male voters, 42,00,778 female voters and 87 third gender voters.
The 18-19 age group registered a rise of 14,29,379 voters, while the gender ratio improved by 10 points from 824 to 834, he said.
Among districts, Prayagraj recorded the highest increase in voters at 3,29,421, followed by Lucknow at 2,85,961, Bareilly at over 2,57,000, Ghaziabad at 2,43,666 and Jaunpur at 2,37,590.
The CEO said the successful completion of the revision exercise reflects coordinated efforts by election officials, political parties and voters across the state.
