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Samajwadi Party throws a spanner even as its allies stay undecided

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The Samajwadi Party (SP) has thrown a spanner in the Presidential elections by announcing that it will neither support a BJP candidate, nor a Congress nominee in the upcoming polls.

SP’s national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “Our party president and quite a few senior leaders feel that SP should maintain equal distance from the BJP and the Congress in the Presidential elections.”

In political circles, SP’s decision is being seen as a clear message to the Congress to not to mess with its internal matters.

Sources said that Akhilesh Yadav had taken a strong exception to Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s recent meeting with senior SP MLA Mohammad Azam Khan in jail.

While the BJP seems to be in a comfortable position to see its nominee through in the polls, for the Congress, the Presidential elections will be a major opportunity to position itself as the main challenger to the saffron brigade in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

For this, the Congress would need the support of all the BJP rivals, and SP’s latest stance could leave the Congress strategists eyeing SP votes a bit concerned.

As the electoral college which elects the President comprises all members of both Houses of the Parliament and MLAs from all the states, SP will be a noticeable player. Presently, SP and its allies have 125 MLAs, 16 MLCs and 8 MPs (both Houses).

Interestingly, none of the SP allies have so far made any comment on SP’s decision on Presidential elections.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), according to sources, is �uncomfortable’ with SP’s posture.

“You need to take a stand in politics and cannot always queer the pitch. We do not understand what SP wants but we will take a decision at the appropriate time,” said a senior RLD leader.

The RLD has eight MLAs in the UP Assembly.

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) is also a Samajwadi ally with six legislators and its President Om Prakash Rajbhar is also maintaining a studied silence on the issue.

Meanwhile, according to sources, a section of senior legislators in the SP is also against the decision announced by Akhilesh Yadav.

These legislators are apparently waiting for Shivpal Singh Yadav to decide his stand on the issue and may eventually go with him.

A senior SP MLA told IANS, “In politics, we cannot build castles in the air. We have to go either with the Congress or the BJP because we are not in a position to influence the outcome of the Presidential elections. Our leadership is not even negotiating with other non-BJP parties on the issue.”

The Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), meanwhile, have been reduced to the status of non-players in the Presidential polls from Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress has just two members in the state Assembly, while the BSP has one.

Maharashtra

Student Dies After Tree Falls on School Bus in Mumbai’s Chembur

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Mumbai, June 30: A school student lost their life and several others were injured after a large tree collapsed onto a school bus in Mumbai’s Chembur area on Tuesday amid heavy rainfall.

According to officials, the accident occurred while the bus was transporting students. The impact damaged the vehicle, prompting an immediate rescue operation by emergency responders and local authorities. The injured students were taken to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.

Authorities confirmed that one student succumbed to injuries sustained in the incident. The remaining injured children are receiving medical care, and their condition is being monitored.

The cause of the tree’s collapse is under investigation. Preliminary assessments suggest that persistent monsoon rains may have weakened the tree, although officials have not yet released a final conclusion.

The incident has renewed concerns about the safety of roadside trees during the monsoon season, with residents calling for regular inspections and preventive maintenance to reduce the risk of similar accidents.

Police and civic authorities are continuing their investigation and are expected to review the condition of trees in the surrounding area as part of the inquiry.

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Maharashtra

Fayyaz, who distributed poison pills on Ashura Day, participated in the election, important conclusion in the investigation

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Mumbai: Fayyaz Premji, who distributed poisonous capsules on Ashura Day in Mumbai, was mentally disturbed. He had also contested the election for the Khoja Committee here and after his defeat, he became disheartened. He was an atheist since 2005. He also started criticizing the Shia community and religious scholars. He committed this act to register his presence in the Khoja Committee. His intention was not to kill the mourners. He had ordered poisonous rat poison from MM Reshamwala of Madhya Pradesh and had also transferred money online for 40 kg of the substance. Fayyaz lives in Pune’s Women Nagar. Ever since he started making controversial statements against the Shia community, his family has also distanced themselves from him. Fayyaz also visited Iran in 2025 during this time. He confessed to the Mumbai police that his intention was not to take the lives of the mourners or kill them, so the capsule pills he distributed had only 1.5 or 1.1 grams of rat poison mixed in them so that the mourners would only get sick and not die. In this case, the police have also started investigating whether Fayyaz’s plan was prepared by him alone and whether more people are involved behind it and whether this is not a conspiracy of a lone wolf attack because it is also a part of global terrorism. In this regard, the police have started investigating this case from every angle, but in this case, the police have made it clear that Fayyaz’s mental state is also unstable and this is also leading to new conclusions in the investigation. The police have not denied the involvement of more people in this case, but in the investigation so far, only Fayyaz’s involvement in this case has been confirmed.

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Maharashtra

Political parties should cooperate in the process of Special Revision (SIR) of voter lists: District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide

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Mumbai: As per the instructions of the Election Commission of India, the process of Special In-depth Revision (SIR) of Voter Lists is underway in the Mumbai region (Mumbai city and suburbs) under the programme. Political parties should cooperate in the various processes going on in this regard. In addition, District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has appealed to the public to assist in the house visits of Polling Station Level Officers (BLOs) from June 30 to July 29, 2026 to ensure maximum counting. To provide information about the Special In-depth Revision of Voter Lists programme, a meeting of representatives of various political parties was held today (June 30, 2026) at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Headquarters under the chairmanship of the District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner.

Deputy Mayor Sanjay Gadi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) and Additional District Election Officer Prajakta Verma-Laungare, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) and Additional District Election Officer Dr. Vipin Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) and Additional District Election Officer Abhijeet Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) and Additional District Election Officer Dr. Avinash Dhakane, District Collector (Mumbai City District) and Additional District Election Officer SMS. Aanchal Goyal, Joint Commissioner (Tax Assessment and Collection) Mr. Vishwas Shankarwar etc. were present on the occasion. Representatives of various political parties were also present. District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide further said that the Polling Station Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the house between June 30 and July 29, 2026. Voters are expected to provide necessary information to the concerned BLOs. The aim of this entire process is that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible person is included. Therefore, Smt. Bhide has appealed to all political parties to cooperate in this process. The representatives of political parties were provided with detailed information about the process, schedule and action taken under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Voter List Programme. Apart from this, various issues raised by the representatives of political parties were discussed.

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