Akhilesh pushes temple project in Yadav citadel before state poll battle

Akhilesh Yadav pushes for Kedareshwar Mahadev temple in Etawah, aiming to counter BJP's Hindutva narrative ahead of 2027 elections.

On the outskirts of Etawah town in central Uttar Pradesh is the Lion Safari Park, once a big draw for tourists in India’s most-populous province but now closed due to a recent avian flu scare.

The temple is being built by the Kedareshwar Mahadev Etawah Temple Trust, whose chief trustee is Akhilesh Yadav. Deepak Gupta/HT (HT)

But coming up roughly8km away, off the Etawah-Bhind bypass road, is another potential landmark for the city often considered a stronghold of the Yadav family.

Here, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav — accused by the Bharatiya Janata Party of being anti-Hindu for skipping the Ram