SP chief Akhilesh and his family will be defeated in LS polls: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and all four members of his family contesting the Lok Sabha polls will lose and the opposition party will not be able to open its account in the state.

The chief minister addressed election rallies in Gola in favour of the BJP candidate from the Kheri Lok Sabha seat Ajay Mishra and in Lakhimpur Kheri's Mohammadi for the party's Dhaurahra Lok Sabha candidate Rekha Verma.

"The defeat of the Samajwadi Party chief's family members on all five seats is certain. The SP's account will not be opened in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election," Adityanath said in Gola.

While SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, his wife Dimple Yadav is contesting from the Mainpuri constituency. Akhilesh Yadav's cousins Akshay Yadav, Aditya Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav are in the fray from the Firozabad, Budaun and Azamgarh parliamentary seats respectively.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh as allies.

Adityanath said, "People of the Congress and the SP are saying that the construction of Ram temple was unnecessary... On the one hand, there are 'Rambhakts' who provide benefits and welfare to the poor, and on the other, there are 'Ramdrohis (traitors of Lord Ram) who breach India's security, insult India on international stages and toy with faith."

The chief minister also alleged that the Congress and the SP were conspiring to divide the country.

He added that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India is moving towards becoming a world power.

BJP candidate Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra is one of the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. It pertains to an incident of violence that took place on October 3, 2021, in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing a public gathering in Sitapur, Adityanath again said that the entire election revolves around 'Rambhakts' and 'Ramdrohis'.

"The public and Rambhakts' are saying that we will bring those who have brought Ram, whereas Ramdrohis' are saying that the temple is 'useless' and there was no need for it," he said.

At the election rally in Lakhimpur Kheri, Adityanath said that as the Lok Sabha election of 2024 reaches a critical juncture with half of the constituencies having completed voting in the first three phases, the sentiment resonating across the nation is 'Phir Ek Baar, Modi Sarkar'.