InfoAnda - Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Study: Tired teens more likely to engage in risky behavior | 28 September 2011
Argentine leader faces new political landscape | International | | 30 June 2009
US denies report that 147 died in Afghan violence | 8 May 2009

Taliban briefly overrun east Afghanistan district | 2 November 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Full Article Images of February Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read California man arrested in killing of girlfriend with cannon 06 Mar 2012 Obama mulls giving Moscow data on missile defense 06 Mar 2012 What sank the Titanic? Scientists point to the moon 6:43am EST Apple's next iPad may be a 4G game changer | 10:14am EST Labor market shows more signs of life 10:24am EST Discussed 152 Obama warns against ”loose talk” of war on Iran 115 Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart dies: LA coroner 104 Three Occupy Oakland protesters charged with hate crimes Watched U.S. Navy kicks off rail gun tests with a bang Tue, Feb 28 2012 Israeli device takes the thirst out of war zones Mon, Mar 5 2012 E-athletes battle in MLG StarCraft II tournament - Tech Tonic Mon, Mar 5 2012 Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Voters deal heavy blow to India's next Gandhi Tue, Mar 6 2012 Analysis & Opinion What’s so great about moderates? Privileged witness to the start of life Related Topics World » Akhilesh Yadav, state party president and son of the Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav, speaks during a news conference at their party headquarters in the northern Indian city of Lucknow March 6, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Stringer By Matthias Williams NEW DELHI | Wed Mar 7, 2012 8:42am EST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - It was supposed to be the crowning moment for Rahul Gandhi, the heir-apparent in India's ruling Congress party, but he was thrashed in this week's state election results and another young man thrust into the spotlight. Akhilesh Yadav has won national acclaim by helping return his father to power as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous and politically key state where Gandhi had hoped to stage a revival for Congress as it prepares to contest national elections in 2014. Both men had taken charge of the campaigns to the Uttar Pradesh state legislature -- Gandhi for Congress and Yadav for his Samajwadi (Socialist) Party. A relative unknown outside his state until recently, Yadav proved a canny operator and an effective grass roots campaigner, travelling hundreds of kilometres around Uttar Pradesh on a bicycle. It was a smart move, since the bicycle was the Samajwadi election symbol. Samajwadi ended up with 224 out of the state's 403 seats, enabling it to form the state government without any need for a coalition. Despite an energetic campaign that saw him sleep in the huts of villagers and join farmers' protests, Gandhi and the Congress party got just 28 seats. "Akhilesh Yadav queered Rahul Gandhi's pitch, by projecting a youthful modernist face, but with the added advantages of being seemingly rooted in local social circumstance," wrote analyst Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express. "He talked the language of aspiration." Both Yadav and Gandhi had projected themselves as agents of change, but on Wednesday it was Yadav's face that was splashed all over the front pages, feted for doing what Gandhi tried and failed to do. Both men have been educated overseas -- Gandhi in Britain and the United States and Yadav in Australia -- but Yadav managed to maintain a distinct "man of the masses" image that went down well in the largely rural state. He also managed to change his party's image of being peopled by strongmen and thugs. In one landmark decision, Yadav insisted that an alleged criminal be refused a party ticket to contest the election, reportedly against the wishes of some party stalwarts. The young man's view prevailed. "People don't want old style politics and this is something that Akhilesh understands, which his father Mulayam Singh didn't," said political analyst Amulya Ganguli. "Akhilesh is more in sync with the new evolving world of an open economy and that is his appeal." At a press conference on election day in Lucknow, the capital of the northern state on the Gangetic plains, Yadav said law and order was the party's top priority. "Akhilesh has definitely become a phenomenon," said political analyst Kuldip Nayar. "The perception of the party as being a party of goons has definitely changed." FOOTBALL AND LAPTOPS A former wrestler, Mulayam Singh Yadav first became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989, relying on the votes of farmers from his Yadav caste and Muslims. His party has a colorful history. "Bandit Queen" Phoolan Devi, an outlaw who rampaged through Uttar Pradesh in the 1980s, joined the Samajwadi Party and was elected to parliament before she was gunned down. But to many, the Samajwadi Party had become a tired brand that jarred with India's rise as a tech-savvy, English-speaking, emerging economic giant. It used to campaign against computers on the grounds that they destroyed jobs, and against teaching English in schools. Akhilesh Yadav appears to have changed that. Although born in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav finished his education in Sydney, Australia, and speaks fluent English, although he is still careful to answer media questions in Hindi. In cricket-mad India, he loves football and supports the English club Manchester United. In the run-up to the 2012 campaign, he admitted to mistakes the party had made in the past and commissioned a series of surveys on how the party was viewed in the state. "Akhilesh Yadav was the poster boy for the Samajwadi Party in this campaign and he was the face that helped people to put behind them the unpleasant memories they had of the previous SP rule," said Siddharth Varadarajan, editor of the Hindu newspaper. Instead of attacking technology, he promised free laptops to students. The party now has its own Facebook page. At 38, Yadav is three years younger than Gandhi. He has been a member of the national parliament since 2000. Based on this result he does seem the more politically astute of the two. But Yadav does not necessarily see it that way. After the results, he said of Gandhi: "Politics is like that. We lost last time but won this time. We may lose again. Similarly Rahul lost this time but may win tomorrow." (Additional reporting by Annie Banerji and Arup Roychoudhury; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Ed Lane) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Obama says Syria's Assad will fall, U.N. assesses draft |
Insight: Japan missed tsunami wake-up call for change |
Obama says new Iran talks should calm drums of war |
Two UK Murdoch journalists in apparent suicide bids |
Suicide bomber kills 5 police in Russia's Dagestan |
Insight: China gambles on Cambodia's shrinking forests |
China official sees militant links in Pakistan |
Al Qaeda says Yemen attack follows U.S. troop increase |
Hollande widens lead as French campaign drags: poll |
Exclusive: Netflix in talks for cable partnership |
Japan prosecutors charge key figures in Olympus scandal |
Apple's next iPad may be a 4G game changer |
Sim City gets rebuilt for 2013 with modern look |
Civil libertarians slam McCain cybersecurity bill |
Hacking mole helps FBI arrest Anonymous leaders |
Google recasts Android Market with new name |
Hacking payouts may drive up privacy damages in UK |
Tribeca expands world view in film fest lineup |
Garth Brooks headed to Country Music Hall of Fame |
Hindus protest bin Laden film shoot in north India |
Israel cautiously welcomes big-power talks with Iran |
In a rallying cry, foes brand Putin win an insult |
Yemen Qaeda-linked group demands prisoner release |
Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star |
India police arrest man with Iran link over Israel attack |
Norway mass killer charged with terrorism |
U.S. hands pirate suspects to Seychelles for trial |
Six British soldiers killed in Afghan blast |
Samsung files fresh lawsuit against Apple in South Korea |
Exclusive: Netflix in talks for cable partnership |
RIM results will continue to disappoint: BMO |
Bill Gates company starts music service for pros |
China says some foreign firms exploit workers |
A Minute With: Julianne Moore on being Sarah Palin |
Label scents global success with Japan band Perfume |
A year on, Japan nuclear film shows lives in limbo |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01