UP Dy CM target Akhilesh Yadav govt; claims traders threatened by 'lungi-clad' goons

Stirring yet another controversy, UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday, took a dig at the Akhilesh Yadav regime for supporting goons. Addressing the 'Vyapari sammelan' in Prayagraj, Maurya took a veiled dig at a specific community, asking,  'How many lungi-clad, skull cap goons used to threaten, before 2017?'. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

KP Maurya: 'How many goons used to threaten you?'

"Before 2017, how many lungi-clad goons used to roam here? Who in skull caps used to threaten the traders while carrying guns? Who used to encroach upon your land & threaten you to not go to Police? Remember all this," said Maurya.

Maurya has already stirred controversies terming Akhilesh Yadav as 'Akhilesh Ali Jinnah' after he equated the Pakistan founder to India's Iron Man - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Maurya said that "politics of appeasement" won’t help SP in the upcoming polls. “The politics of appeasement of the Samajwadi Party has brought Jinnah. That’s why I tell Akhilesh Yadav that he should change his name to Akhilesh Ali Jinnah. And he should change the name of his party to Jinnahwadi Party,” said the Dy CM.

BJP's community-based campaign

Targetting several sects like the Brahmins, Yadavs, Dalits, BJP aims to hold 27 such conventions across the state as part of its ‘Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan’ program. CM Yogi Adityanath, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and other top BJP leaders have already addressed programs aimed at Vaishya Samaj, Pal Samaj, Prajapati samaj, Yadav samaj etc - pitching a nationalism platform in a bid to woo the communities. Both BSP and SP have held  'Prabudh Sammelan' to woo the Brahmin community. Both parties have alleged that Dalits and Brahmins are living in fear in the state due to BJP, accusing Yogi Adityanath of favouring only his community - Thakurs.

With BJP fighting under the leadership of incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, holding talks with Mahan Dal, NCP, SBSP. Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand, while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return.