For the past week, the sleepy, "mast-maula" Varanasi has pitchforked itself into envious limelight as the biggest and best in Indian politics camped here to woo voters as the city readied to go to the hustings in the last phase of the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. ....

Over 10 years (2006-15), Uttar Pradesh (UP) transferred Indian Police Service (IPS) officers at four times the Indian average, according to an analysis of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) data. ....

Call it Varanasi, Banaras or Kashi -- the city is little bothered about life around and takes it as it comes. But when it comes to politics, everyone has a strong view on the subject. With voting in the state assembly polls due only days ahead of the Holi festival, the streets of the holy city are abuzz with discussions, rumours, and diverse viewpoints. ....

In an apparent case of road rage, four persons opened fire after their car was involved in an acident in Khoda area of Ghaziabad district injuring three persons, police said on Monday. The four assailants were arrested. ....

Campaigning for the final phase of the seven-stage Uttar Pradesh assembly elections came to an end at 5 p.m. on Monday, bringing the curtains down on one of the most caustic and bitterly-fought political battles ever seen in recent times. ....

BJP President Amit Shah on Monday took a dig at Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, saying that Uttar Pradesh kept falling back in development indicators during the rule of the two leaders -- whom he referred to mockingly as "bua and bhatija". ....

The BSP will form the next government in Uttar Pradesh, leaving the BJP and the SP-Congress alliance at the second and third places, BSP chief Mayawati said on Monday. ....

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to polarise voters on communal lines. ....

On the third day of back-to-back campaigning in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday visited the famous Gadwaghat Ashram, a place most revered by the Yadavs. ....

The Election Commission (EC) has prohibited exit polls for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections till 5.30 p.m. on March 9 following the death of the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Alapur seat, in the wake of which polling, originally scheduled for February 27, has been pushed back to Thursday, an official said. ....