AAP to kick off UP poll campaign; Manish Sisodia to hold Tiranga rally in Ayodhya

Kicking off its Uttar Pradesh rally, AAP announced that Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia will hold a 'Tiranga Sankalp Yatra' in Ayodhya on September 14. Claiming that this would counter BJP's 'fake nationalism', AAP said that Sisodia will introduce nationalism to UP citizens. Flaunting its 'Desh Bhakti' curriculum, AAP said that its nationalism involves giving good education to every child and protection to the vulnerable. The 403-seat UP Assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

AAP to kick off its UP rally in Ayodhya

Sources added that Sisodia will arrive in Ayodhya on Monday and visit the Ram Lalla shrine where the Ram Mandir is being constructed. While AAP has not announced any alliance, its UP in-charge Sanjay Singh met with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in July, hinting at an AAP-SP coalition for the UP polls in 2022. Downplaying the meeting, Singh claimed that he met the SP scion informally to share belated birthday wishes. SP has stated that it will not ally with any 'big' party, while AAP is already contesting elections in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and UP.

AAP's scam allegations

AAP has already alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government has indulged in a big scam in the multi-crore Jal Jeevan Mission scheme in the state. Singh alleged that BJP minister Dr. Mahendra Singh had awarded the contract of constructing pipelines to a company that has been rejected by eight states. Moreover, the AAP MP alleged that the government tender had been awarded to the company at inflated rates - 40% higher than the original quotation.

Previously, Singh and SP's ex-MLA Pawan Pandey accused Ram Janmabhoomi Trust chief  Champat Rai of buying a piece of land worth Rs 2 crore at an inflated price of Rs 18.5 crore for the Ram temple premises with help from Trust's member Anil Mishra. Both the leaders alleged that Rai purchased the land, measuring 1.208 hectares and located in Bag Bjaisi village under Sadar tehsil of Ayodhya district for a price of Rs 18.50 crore from the first purchaser, who had bought it minutes earlier on March 18 this year from its original owners for a sum of Rs two crores. Terming it a case of money laundering, Singh and Pandey sought a probe by the CBI and ED. AAP had also accused the Adityanath govt of selling oximeters and thermometers at inflated rates amid COVID spread and favouring the Thakur community over others.