Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday responded to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s challenge to contest the upcoming assembly elections from Ayodhya, saying his party’s candidate, Tej Narayan alias Pawan Pandey, was capable of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
The exchange has intensified political sparring over the Ayodhya assembly seat, with Yadav also questioning whether Adityanath had secured confirmation of his own party ticket.
“The arrogant people will be blown away by the wind of our ‘Pawan’. Whose ticket was finalised first? It was Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya. The wind of Pawan will not spare this arrogant government,” Yadav said, describing the SP’s candidate as its “PDA Prahari”.
The SP has fielded Pandey from Ayodhya, a constituency currently represented by BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta. Adityanath, meanwhile, represents the Gorakhpur Urban assembly constituency.
Yadav questions Adityanath’s ticket
Yadav urged the BJP to concentrate on its own electoral prospects rather than comment on the SP’s candidate selection.
“Those whose own tickets are not confirmed are talking about tickets. The chief minister should first get his own ticket confirmed,” the SP chief said.
His remarks came a day after Adityanath accepted Yadav’s dare to contest from Ayodhya and challenged the SP leader to enter the electoral fray from the same constituency.
Addressing a gathering in Balrampur on Saturday, the chief minister said: “I invite you (Akhilesh Yadav) to file your nomination from Ayodhya. I will also try my luck there once. The fight should be face-to-face.”
Adityanath’s remarks prompted Yadav to reiterate his confidence in Pandey, signalling that the Ayodhya seat could become a focal point of the political contest in Uttar Pradesh.
SP chief targets Uttar Pradesh government over Jayaprakash Narayan memorial
Yadav also criticised the Uttar Pradesh government over its handling of the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow. After garlanding the statue of freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan at the centre, he accused the government of disrespecting freedom fighters and attempting to sell the facility.
“The present government does not respect freedom fighters. We built such a large memorial to Jayaprakash Narayan, but the government is trying to sell it,” Yadav said.
Responding to a question about the upcoming assembly elections, the SP chief expressed confidence in a change of government. “Change is certain. Our wind will sweep away arrogant people,” he said.
Yadav accuses Election Commission of collusion with BJP
Yadav also accused the Election Commission of India of working in collusion with the BJP. He demanded the immediate release of all those detained during the ongoing agitation by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi.
The remarks added another dimension to the SP chief’s criticism of the BJP, as the political exchange over Ayodhya unfolded alongside his allegations against the state government and the Election Commission.