Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday challenged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to contest the upcoming assembly elections from Ayodhya, claiming the BJP is struggling to finalise a candidate and is trailing in successive surveys.
Speaking at a Bhagwat Katha event at the residence of the SP’s Ayodhya candidate Tej Narayan alias Pawan Pandey, Akhilesh Yadav said the party’s early announcement of its nominee has unsettled the BJP.
“Ever since we declared our candidate in Ayodhya, the BJP has been conducting survey after survey. In every survey, the BJP is lagging behind. We hear they are unable to find a new candidate for Ayodhya. If the chief minister who makes tall claims is so confident, he should contest from Ayodhya himself,” he said.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister further said those who claimed to separate “milk from water” would see the people reject them completely.
“This time, not just in Ayodhya but across the state, the people will not spare those who loot public money,” he added.
The SP had announced Pawan Pandey as its candidate for the Ayodhya Assembly seat about two months ago. Yadav was in the temple town to attend the religious discourse organised at Pandey’s residence. Yadav’s challenge to Adityanath comes months after the Ram temple donation allegations surfaced. The allegations were made public by Pandey in June.
{{/usCountry}}The SP had announced Pawan Pandey as its candidate for the Ayodhya Assembly seat about two months ago. Yadav was in the temple town to attend the religious discourse organised at Pandey’s residence. Yadav’s challenge to Adityanath comes months after the Ram temple donation allegations surfaced. The allegations were made public by Pandey in June.
{{/usCountry}}Addressing the gathering amidst the bhajan of “Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram,” Yadav said that Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram and that devotees of both Ram and Krishna stand united in devotion. He described Bhagwat Katha as a source of moral strength and said the real message of religion is love, compassion and fellow feeling, lessons that government agencies should also learn.
Promising development if the SP comes to power, Yadav said his government would accelerate Ayodhya’s progress without discrimination and ensure that the benefits primarily reach local residents rather than outsiders. He reiterated the party’s commitment to providing ₹40,000 annually to women, similar to the earlier Samajwadi pension scheme, and said every effort would be made to elevate Ayodhya’s identity to the global stage.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Agra on Thursday, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak questioned Akhilesh’s Ayodhya visit, saying, “Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will not go for darshan of Ram Lalla even after going to Ayodhya Dham, because the Samajwadi Party’s hands are stained with the blood of kar sevaks. They are staunch opponents of Sanatan culture. These are parties based only on Muslim appeasement. They are in politics only because of casteism and Muslim appeasement.”
Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad, whose parliamentary constituency Faizabad includes Ayodhya, welcomed Yadav on behalf of the district’s residents. When asked whether the SP chief would visit the Ram Temple, Prasad said a grand temple is being built in Yadav’s home district and that the party president would visit with his family after the pran pratishtha ceremony.
Reacting to the visit, Union minister Chirag Paswan said faith is a personal matter that should not be politicised.
“Whether someone wants to visit the Ram Temple or not, or whether they have faith or not, has nothing to do with the politics of Uttar Pradesh. Politics should focus on development. Issues of caste, religion or personal faith only divert attention from real issues,” he said while speaking to the media in Lucknow on Thursday.