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BJP’s 8 Rajya Sabha contenders from Uttar Pradesh: who are they?The BJP has announced 8 candidates for the 2026 Uttar Pr...
05/10/2026

BJP’s 8 Rajya Sabha contenders from Uttar Pradesh: who are they?

The BJP has announced 8 candidates for the 2026 Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections, replacing its outgoing UP slate and bringing in a mix of state ministers, organisational leaders, a former MP, a lawyer and grassroots leaders.

Here are the eight names:

Dharampal Singh — Aonla, Bareilly | UP Cabinet Minister | Lodh community
Radhakant Ojha — Prayagraj/Allahabad | Senior Allahabad High Court lawyer
Prakash Pal — Kanpur-Bundelkhand region | BJP UP OBC Morcha President
Vidyasagar Sonkar — Former Saidpur Lok Sabha constituency, Ghazipur | Former MP and former MLC
Gopi Krishna Pandey — Kanpur region | BJP organisational leader
Priyanka Singh Rawat — Former Barabanki Lok Sabha MP | BJP UP Vice-President
Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan — Etmadpur, Agra | BJP UP General Secretary and former MLA
Shruti Gangwar — Bareilly/Rohilkhand | Daughter of Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar

The list includes 3 OBC candidates, 2 Scheduled Caste candidates and 3 candidates from the general category, with two women among the eight.

The election is for 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh, with polling scheduled for 16 October 2026. The Samajwadi Party has nominated Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani.

UPRajyaSabhaElection UPPolitics2026 UPAssemblyElection2027 BJP BharatiyaJanataParty SamajwadiParty SP Congress BSP RLD NDA INDIAAlliance DharampalSingh RadhakantOjha PrakashPal VidyasagarSonkar GopiKrishnaPandey PriyankaSinghRawat RamPratapSinghChauhan ShrutiGangwar RamGopalYadav DhanrajNathwani YogiAdityanath AkhileshYadav Lucknow Kanpur Bareilly Agra Prayagraj Barabanki Ghazipur Purvanchal Rohilkhand Bundelkhand PoliticalConsulting ElectionAnalysis PoliticalResearch ElectionVolunteers PoliticalVolunteers IndianPolitics PoliticsIndia Election2027 TowardsPublicPolicy

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Who watches the referee when the players no longer trust the game?India is having a serious conversation about the Elect...
04/10/2026

Who watches the referee when the players no longer trust the game?

India is having a serious conversation about the Election Commission, voter rolls and electoral trust.

With protests in Delhi and Mumbai, demands for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, concerns around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and political parties preparing further demonstrations, the debate has moved far beyond one individual.

But there is another question we need to ask:

Is changing the CEC enough, or does India need to change the system itself?

In this carousel, we break down Prashant Kishor’s Election Commission reform blueprint, including:

• Making voter lists searchable and machine-readable
• Greater transparency in additions and deletions
• Public disclosure of booth-level voting data
• Accountability for voter deletions
• Greater transparency in the appointment and deployment of election officials
• The Opposition’s role in demanding institutional reforms
• Rahul Gandhi’s allegations and political response
• The Election Commission’s defence of its process

The debate is bigger than BJP vs Congress.

It concerns every MP, MLA, Rajya Sabha member, political party, candidate, election strategist, public policy researcher, journalist and, most importantly, every voter.

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Election Commission of India, Gyanesh Kumar, SIR, voter list revision, election reforms, electoral reforms, Rahul Gandhi, Prashant Kishor, Indian politics, Parliament, MPs, MLAs, Rajya Sabha, political parties, political strategy, public policy and election transparency.

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IIT Delhi. IIM Bangalore. London. IAS. And now, politics.Former Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS officer Divya Mittal has entered...
02/10/2026

IIT Delhi. IIM Bangalore. London. IAS. And now, politics.

Former Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS officer Divya Mittal has entered a completely new chapter.

After around 13 years in the IAS, Mittal has announced that she wants to enter politics in Uttar Pradesh, while saying that she will not join any political party.

But her journey to this point is anything but ordinary.

From IIT Delhi → IIM Bangalore → London → UPSC → IAS, to administrative postings across Uttar Pradesh, her career has included work at NITI Aayog, postings in Meerut, Gonda, Bareilly, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur and Deoria, and a widely reported water-supply initiative in Mirzapur.

Now the questions are political:

🔴 What does an independent political platform look like in Uttar Pradesh?

🔴 Can administrative experience translate into electoral politics?

🔴 Will she contest an election?

🔴 What happens when established political parties begin responding?

🔴 And what role could Mirzapur play in her next chapter?

UttarPradeshPolitics UttarPradeshElection UPElection2027 UPAssemblyElection Mirzapur MirzapurPolitics Deoria SantKabirNagar Meerut Gonda Bareilly IAS IASOfficer UPSC UPSCIndia CivilServices IndianPolitics IndianPoliticalNews PoliticsIndia PoliticalNews ElectionNews Election2027 UP2027 Governance PublicPolicy Bureaucracy IASOfficerToPolitics PoliticalAnalysis ElectionAnalysis ElectionData PoliticalResearch PoliticalConsulting SamajwadiParty SP BJP Congress INC AkhileshYadav AjayRai RahulGandhi UttarPradeshNews UPNews Lucknow Prayagraj Varanasi Delhi IITDelhi IIMB NITIAayog JalJeevanMission TowardsPublicPolicy

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India’s role in global affairs is not limited to diplomacy at the UN. 🌍At the 81st UN General Assembly, S. Jaishankar hi...
29/09/2026

India’s role in global affairs is not limited to diplomacy at the UN. 🌍

At the 81st UN General Assembly, S. Jaishankar highlighted India’s development partnerships across 78 countries, 600 major development projects, participation in 9 of 11 UN peacekeeping missions, disaster relief, and global initiatives on solar energy, disaster resilience and biofuels.

From Nepal to Venezuela, the Global South to multilateral institutions, India’s development diplomacy is increasingly visible across borders.

Swipe through to understand the numbers, initiatives and institutions behind India’s global engagement.

Save this post for a quick reference to India’s development diplomacy.

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🚨 MAHARASHTRA DROUGHT 2026: WHAT FARMERS NEED TO KNOWMaharashtra has declared 265 of 358 talukas drought-hit, covering 3...
28/09/2026

🚨 MAHARASHTRA DROUGHT 2026: WHAT FARMERS NEED TO KNOW

Maharashtra has declared 265 of 358 talukas drought-hit, covering 32 districts.

But the declaration is only the beginning.

This explainer breaks down: • Why 265 talukas have been covered
• What Trigger-1 means under Maharashtra's drought rules
• Where rainfall deficits are deepest
• The impact on soybean, cotton and other kharif crops
• Falling dam and water storage levels
• What relief the government has announced
• Why crop-loss compensation depends on formal surveys
• The different positions being put forward on farmer assistance
• How the 2026 declaration compares with recent drought declarations

From Mumbai and Pune to Marathwada, Vidarbha, Nashik, Solapur, Beed, Jalna, Buldhana, Hingoli, Dharashiv, Akola, Nagpur, Amravati and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the drought question has implications for agriculture, water management, rural livelihoods, public finance and administration.

For policymakers, administrators, researchers, NGOs, journalists and citizens, the key question is not only how drought is declared, but how relief reaches the people affected.

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They won in May. They quit in 21 days. Now two seats vote again.Tamil Nadu’s political arithmetic is changing fast.The M...
27/09/2026

They won in May. They quit in 21 days. Now two seats vote again.

Tamil Nadu’s political arithmetic is changing fast.

The Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly bypolls on 6 October 2026 will put the spotlight on TVK, AIADMK, DMK, the Left parties and the newly formed alliance around Vijay.

Both constituencies became vacant after AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama resigned and later joined TVK. TVK has now fielded both former MLAs in the same constituencies.

The contest is now multi-cornered, with 27 candidates in Madurantakam and 22 in Dharapuram after the withdrawal deadline.

For voters, political parties and campaign teams, the interesting question is not just who is contesting, but how the numbers, alliances, vote transfers and previous results shape each constituency.

Madurantakam. Dharapuram. Two seats. A very different political equation.

📍 Tamil Nadu
🗳️ Madurantakam & Dharapuram
📅 6 October 2026
📊 Data + constituency analysis
📈 Counting: 9 October 2026

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27,000 votes in every seat. But what does that actually mean for UP 2027?Akhilesh Yadav has set the Samajwadi Party a ta...
26/09/2026

27,000 votes in every seat. But what does that actually mean for UP 2027?

Akhilesh Yadav has set the Samajwadi Party a target of increasing its vote position by 27,000 votes in every Assembly constituency ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh election.

Our latest analysis tests the arithmetic against Uttar Pradesh's 2017, 2022 and 2024 election data.

We look at:

📊 SP and BJP's 2022 vote and seat positions
📍 The 2024 Lok Sabha shift in Uttar Pradesh
🗳️ BJP's performance in the 2024–25 bypolls
📈 The scale of the BSP vote
👥 The PDA arithmetic across social groups
📝 Changes in Uttar Pradesh's electoral rolls
🎯 The 74 NDA seats won by margins below 5%
📉 The latest available 2026 survey data
🔢 Three mathematical illustrations of the 27,000-vote target

The key question is not simply how many votes move.

It is where those votes come from, which constituencies they move in, and how evenly the swing is distributed.

With the PDA Rath now launched from Raebareli, the 2027 UP political contest is already moving into a more active organisational phase.

Swipe through the numbers.

UPElections AkhileshYadav SamajwadiParty SP PDA PDAPolitics Raebareli Lucknow Ayodhya Kanpur Varanasi Prayagraj Agra Meerut Gorakhpur Bareilly Moradabad Aligarh Mathura Ghaziabad Noida GreaterNoida Azamgarh Ballia Ghazipur Jaunpur Sultanpur Barabanki Unnao Sitapur Lakhimpur Bahraich Gonda Basti Ayodhya Fatehpur Jhansi Bundelkhand Awadh Purvanchal WesternUP PoliticalAnalysis ElectionAnalysis ElectionData ConstituencyAnalysis VoteShare PoliticalStrategy IndianPolitics IndiaPolitics

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Can a law change how the Election Commission can be held accountable?Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and O...
25/09/2026

Can a law change how the Election Commission can be held accountable?

Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023 has become the focus of a legal challenge over the protection it provides to the CEC and Election Commissioners for acts done in their official capacity.

But what exactly does Section 16 say?
How is it different from the earlier 1991 framework?
What arguments have petitioners raised?
What is the government’s position?
And what happens when questions of accountability meet constitutional protection?

This carousel breaks down Section 16, the 2023 CEC Act, Article 324(5), the Supreme Court proceedings and the March 2026 removal notices in simple terms.

The Supreme Court has issued notice in the challenge, while the provision remains in force and the case remains pending.

Swipe through. Read the law. Understand the institution.

Follow Towards Public Policy for explainers on Indian law, elections, institutions, public policy and political developments.

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Indian politics | Election Commission of India | CEC Gyanesh Kumar | Section 16 CEC Act 2023 | Chief Election Commissioner Act | Election Commission immunity | Article 324 | Supreme Court India | Indian Constitution | election law India | political institutions India | democracy India | legal explainer | public policy India | Parliament India

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Same chair. Same family. Different brother.The BSP has a new National Coordinator.On September 23, 2026, Mayawati appoin...
25/09/2026

Same chair. Same family. Different brother.

The BSP has a new National Coordinator.

On September 23, 2026, Mayawati appointed 27-year-old Ishan Anand as the party’s National Coordinator, days after his elder brother Akash Anand was removed from all party responsibilities.

The appointment comes after a remarkable series of organisational changes inside the BSP over just a few weeks.

Ishan Anand, son of BSP national vice-president Anand Kumar, has largely remained behind the scenes until now. His elevation puts a relatively new political face at the centre of the BSP's organisational strategy ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab Assembly elections.

At the same time, Mayawati has reiterated the BSP's position that the party does not follow dynastic politics, while allowing family members to work within the organisation under certain conditions.

So what does Ishan's appointment mean for the BSP?

A new organisational chapter, a changing family equation, and a major test ahead of 2027.

Follow Towards Public Policy for data-backed coverage of Indian politics, elections, governance and public policy.

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Only 38 in 100 young Indians were registered before the 2024 polls. What happens when the annual voter-roll revision is ...
24/09/2026

Only 38 in 100 young Indians were registered before the 2024 polls. What happens when the annual voter-roll revision is put on hold?

India's 2026–27 Special Summary Revision (SSR) has not yet been announced, even as five states prepare for Assembly elections in early 2027.

The issue is bigger than a yearly administrative exercise.

The SSR is an important mechanism for updating electoral rolls and bringing newly eligible voters into the system. At the same time, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has produced major changes in electoral rolls across several states.

Our latest carousel breaks down:

🔴 Why the 2026–27 SSR has not been announced
🔴 How SIR has changed the voter-roll revision process
🔴 The registration gap among 18–19-year-olds
🔴 What happened to young voters in Uttar Pradesh
🔴 How qualifying dates differ across the five 2027 states
🔴 What Form 6 means for first-time voters
🔴 Three things to watch before the 2027 elections

One important point: 18-year-olds can still register through Form 6. The question is what a full SSR adds through draft-roll publication, claims and objections, booth-level outreach and enrolment drives. The ECI's Form 6 remains the prescribed application for inclusion of new voters.

📩 [email protected]

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