Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘Shayari’ on winning Faizabad Ayodhya seat in Lok Sabha and mentioning ‘Yogi ji’

Mr Yadav, now MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj, was speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President’s address. Thanking the people of Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha poll results, in which his party put up a stellar show, Mr Yadav focused on the Faizabad seat.

Ayodhya, which was a big talking point in this election since the grand Ram Temple was built, is part of the Faizabad seat. Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad won the seat by a margin of over 50,000 votes.

Earlier this year, during the budget session of Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Mr Yadav had said that Mr Adityanath oversaw all arrangements for the Ram Temple inauguration, but did not find a place on the red carpet as the whole focus was on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had then recited a shayari that meant that the person who organized the event got no attention.

“Huzoor e ala khamosh baithe isi gham mein, mehfil lut le gaya koi jab sajai thi humne,” he had said. Mr Yadav had also said that the Chief Minister was seen making preparations in the run-up to the temple’s opening, but was “out of focus” on the big day.

In the videos of the speech that went viral, Mr Adityanath was seen smiling sportingly. “Some things transcend time, so I am reminded of a ‘sher’ read in the UP Assembly.

It was apt then, now more so,” Mr Yadav said before repeating the shayari. As the ‘shayari’ landed, Mr Yadav patted the shoulder of his party colleague and the Faizabad MP.

And Awadesh Prasad replied, “Yogi ji ke liye (for Yogi ji).” The ‘shayari’ drew loud cheers from the Opposition benches as Mr Yadav went on to say that the poll result in Faizabad reflected the “political understanding of the mature Indian voter”.

“We have heard, what Lord Ram wills, happens. This is his decision.

Those who claimed they have brought someone now depend on others’ support,” he said. This was an ostensible reference to the ‘jo ram ko layein hain, hum unko layenge’ slogan that was used during the run-up to the election as the BJP claimed credit for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Samajwadi Party chief also targeted the Narendra Modi government on paper leaks and alleged that the government is behind these leaks because it doesn’t want to give jobs.