Politics

Yogi Adityanath Challenges Akhilesh Yadav to Contest Ayodhya Seat

By Vijaya Srivastava

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath accepted Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav’s challenge to contest the upcoming assembly elections from Ayodhya. Speaking at a public meeting in Balrampur, Adityanath invited Yadav to file his nomination from the temple town and suggested that the two leaders face each other directly. "Akhilesh ji, Ayodhya is our sacred abode. I visit Ayodhya repeatedly to ensure that there is no lapse in its development, and the identity of Uttar Pradesh is not tarnished in any way. It is a centre of our faith and devotion. We go there not to contest elections, but for its development," he said. "I invite you to file your nomination from Ayodhya, and I will too, and try my luck there once. Let it be decided! The fight should be face‑to‑face," he added.

The challenge follows Yadav’s earlier dare to the chief minister to contest from Ayodhya. Yadav had claimed that the BJP was conducting surveys after his party announced its candidate but had not found a suitable nominee for the seat.

Adityanath, who currently represents the Gorakhpur Urban assembly constituency, criticized the previous SP government for its handling of Ayodhya. He alleged that the town received only three to four hours of electricity and was littered with heaps of garbage during the SP tenure. He also said the SP had imposed restrictions on Ramlila performances and erected barricades in the city.

The political exchange comes after the SP won the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, which covers Ayodhya, in the 2024 general elections. SP candidate Awadhesh Prasad defeated the BJP’s Lallu Singh.

At the Balrampur event, Adityanath accused the SP of misgovernance, protecting criminals, and failing to provide employment opportunities to young people. He said the SP had sold the state and left it in a decrepit condition, calling the party’s PDA slogan a "sink‑the‑state alliance." He also accused the SP of dynastic politics, noting that one of the two Rajya Sabha seats won by the party went to party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle, while the other was given to a wealthy businessman.

Adityanath highlighted his government’s achievements, stating that it had provided government jobs to 9.5 lakh young people over the past nine and a half years and had established a system to provide assistance and compensation to families affected by disasters within 24 hours. He pledged that Balrampur would not be left behind in development and that steps were being taken to ensure prompt compensation in cases of human‑wildlife conflict.