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Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav poked fun at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, saying he has heard that Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is a ‘pawn’ and the ‘password to Delhi’s Wi-Fi’. Yadav’s jibe comes amid speculation of a rift in the BJP’s state unit after its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, spoke to reporters after unveiling the ‘Samvidhan-Stambh’ at the party headquarters in Lucknow on July 26. He also targeted the state government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over corruption.
In a video shared on social media by the Samajwadi Party, Yadav can be heard saying, “The government used to claim that there is a zero tolerance policy towards corruption and law and order. But now their leaders themselves are saying that we have not seen such corruption in our political life.”
“In 10 years, they ruined every system. The poor are not getting treatment anywhere, they did not build a single district hospital. It is not known how much corruption there is and some of this is getting exposed because some people have become pawns.”
– Honorable National President Shri Akhilesh Yadav Ji pic.twitter.com/GNKxfcPd8a
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) July 26, 2024
“Corruption is getting exposed because some people have become pawns,” Yadav said, pointing to the ongoing rift within the BJP, though he did not name anyone. “I have heard that ‘Maurya ji is a pawn’ (Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is a pawn), Delhi’s Wi-Fi has the password,” he said, pointing to Maurya’s proximity to the BJP’s central leadership.
Chief Minister vs Deputy Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh
Maurya has expressed differences with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. During a meeting earlier this month, he attacked the Chief Minister and said that the organisation is bigger than the government. According to reports, the Deputy Chief Minister is insisting that the government and all ministers, MLAs and public representatives should respect party workers.
Yogi Adityanath met BJP national general secretary BL Santosh in New Delhi on July 26. Sources said issues related to the organisation and the UP government, as well as the upcoming ten assembly by-elections, were discussed in the meeting.
Some reports say that the BJP’s central leadership is planning to make some changes in the party structure in Uttar Pradesh due to the alleged crisis. Maurya, who is the OBC face of the party with the support of the RSS, may be given an important organisational post in the party to resolve the crisis
Akhilesh is a ‘pawn of Congress’
Maurya, however, hit back at Yadav’s remarks, saying the BJP will win the 2027 Lok Sabha elections in the state.
“Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav ji, who has become a pawn of Congress, should focus on saving SP from extinction instead of spreading misconceptions about BJP, targeting and insulting backward classes. BJP will repeat 2017 (state assembly election performance) in 2027. The lotus (BJP’s election symbol) has bloomed and will continue to bloom,” he posted on Twitter.
The BJP won 33 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while it had won 62 out of 80 seats in UP in the 2019 general election. Overall, the saffron party’s seats fell from 303 in the 2019 general election to 240. This development comes days after the Uttar Pradesh BJP Working Committee met in the capital Lucknow.
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