JP Nadda mocks Akhilesh Yadav's refusal to take vaccine; quips 'red cap will turn saffron'

On the Uttar Pradesh election campaign trail, BJP president JP Nadda mocked Akhilesh Yadav's politicization of the COVID-19 vaccines available in India. Addressing a meeting of booth presidents in Gorakhpur on Monday, Nadda recalled that the SP chief had publicly expressed distrust in the vaccines citing that they had been approved by the BJP government at the Centre. Turning the tables on Yadav at a juncture when India has administered more than 117 crore doses, the BJP president claimed that Yadav and SP leaders had taken the same vaccines which they earlier mocked. 

BJP chief JP Nadda remarked, "Tell people in the election that when Modi Ji was saying that I will give you not one but two doses and be free of COVID-19, your leader here was saying that it is BJP's vaccine. It is Modi's vaccine. Now you are roaming around having administered with whose vaccine? You too have been administered with Modi vaccine. You too have been administered with BJP vaccine. You should worry that your cap will turn saffron from red very soon." 

Sparking a row on January 2, Akhilesh Yadav stated, "I will not get vaccinated, that too BJP's vaccine. I don't trust it. When our government will come, the vaccine will be free. We will not get BJP's vaccine". Interestingly, the former UP CM has consistently maintained this stance and has denied taking the novel coronavirus vaccine until now. 

SP-BJP faceoff in UP polls

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP had won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Though some BJP leaders made conflicting statements over Adityanath's future as the Chief Minister, PM Modi put rest to all speculations by lauding UP's governance model during his successive visits to the state.

While Akhilesh Yadav has ruled out forging an alliance with Congress and BSP, he has hinted at allying with his uncle Shivpal Yadav. So far, SP has forged an alliance with Mahan Dal and Rashtriya Lok Dal. Speaking exclusively to Republic TV on November 14, he exuded confidence in SP winning 400 seats in the UP polls. Until now, neither Yadav nor Adityanath has taken a call on contesting the Assembly election.