Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 9 (ANI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday advised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to contest the 2027 Assembly elections from Ayodhya, saying that if he was confident of the support of the people there, he should enter the electoral contest from the temple town.
Yadav made the remarks while interacting with the media during his visit to Balia, the ancestral village of former Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary, to pay tribute to him.
"Please do not call it a challenge. This was political advice to him. If he is so comfortable with the people of Ayodhya, and if he has said that the truth will come out within 15 days, then he should take the decision to contest the next election from among them," he said.
"The people of Ayodhya are not against development. However, Ayodhya could have emerged as a city with an international identity and recognition. The way the people of Ayodhya have been treated has been discriminatory," Yadav said.
Taking a swipe at the issue of alleged temple offerings, the SP chief said, “Even a beggar sitting outside a temple does not steal the offerings.”
Expressing confidence about the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Yadav said, “There is going to be a change in 2027.”
Akhilesh further emphasised that the people of Ayodhya should not have been treated unfairly.
"Their shops were taken away, their houses were demolished, and their land was acquired. However, they were not given compensation at market rates. That is why I said that if the Chief Minister is so comfortable with Ayodhya, he should take this decision. This is not a challenge; it is advice," he said.
He also targeted Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, alleging that the BJP had taken away his bargaining power.
On the CJP's proposed protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10, Yadav said the Samajwadi Party extended moral support to the organisation.
“Our moral support is with them. It was there earlier, and it is there today as well,” he said.
Speaking about the INDIA bloc and seat-sharing arrangements ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, Yadav said the opposition alliance had defeated the BJP in the 2024 elections and would do so again.
“We defeated the BJP in 2024 through the INDIA alliance, and we will defeat it again in 2027 with the same alliance. There is not much time left for the elections, and the Samajwadi Party is prepared,” he said. (ANI)
"Ayodhyavasis have been treated discriminatorily": Akhilesh "advises" CM Yogi to contest from Ayodhya in UP elections 2027
