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‘Mungerilal…’, says Keshav Maurya in counter to Akhilesh Yadav's ‘monsoon offer’ jibe
The Uttar Pradesh deputy CM also assured that the SP would see a ‘2017-like defeat’ at the hands of the BJP in 2027.
Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday dismissed Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav's ‘monsoon offer’ as ‘Mungerilal ke haseen sapne,’ a reference to the 1989 TV show of the same name, whose lead character, Mungerilal, was a daydreamer.
Also Read: Keshav Prasad Maurya the man in the middle as political pot boils in Uttar Pradesh
Calling the Akhilesh-led party a ‘sinking ship,’ Maurya also predicted a ‘2017-like defeat’ for the SP at the hands of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.
"In 2027, people and BJP workers will again bring ‘monsoon offer’ to 47. A sinking ship and a dying party with an uncertain present and future…he (Yadav) may see ‘Mungerilal ke haseen sapne’ but his dreams cannot be fulfilled. (We; referring to the BJP) Will repeat 2017 in 2027 and ensure that the ‘Lotus’ (BJP's symbol) government is formed again," he posted on X (formerly Twitter) without naming anyone.
In 2017, the BJP won 312 out of Uttar Pradesh's 403 assembly seats, while the SP, then in power with Akhilesh Yadav as chief minister, won only 47 seats. Five years later, they won 255 and 111 seats, respectively.
Maurya's social media post, meanwhile, came a day after the ex-chief minister, in a cryptic post, made the ‘monsoon offer.’
“Monsoon offer: Sau lao, sarkar banao (bring 100 [legislators], form the government,” Yadav wrote on X.
Also Read: Keshav Maurya's cryptic post amid speculated 'rift' with UP CM Yogi Adityanath
This statement by the Lok Sabha member from the Kannauj seat, was widely seen as an ‘offer’ to the detractors of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath – who will seek a third consecutive term in 2027 – to ‘defect’ and form a new government.
It is believed that there is a ‘rift’ between Adityanath and Maurya over the saffron party's less-than-impressive show in the state in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls. The BJP, which bagged 71 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, and 62 in 2019, saw its tally drop to 33, four less than the Samajwadi Party, which contested in an alliance with the Congress; the grand old party won six of the 17 seats given to it under the partnership.
Also Read: UP BJP chief meets PM amid Yogi Adityanath vs Keshav Maurya rift buzz
The BJP also lost the Faizabad parliamentary segment to the SP. The seat covers the holy city of Ayodhya, where the grand Ram Temple opened in January. In its manifesto for the 2019 general elections, the BJP said that it would get the Ram Temple built if the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the temple. In November that year, a verdict of the apex court paved the way for the construction of the temple dedicated to Lord Ram.
