Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday described Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav as a ‘puppet’ in an attack following the M.P. CM’s Azamgarh visit on February 13. During the visit, the M.P. CM asked the U.P. Bharatiya Janata Party president Bhupendra Chaudhary how to address the people, in a video that has since gone viral.
“I had heard of puppets but am seeing puppets for the first time. This puppet cannot even speak for himself since all his strings are held in someone else’s hands. The people of Azamgarh are saying, why listen to those who do not know what to say,” Mr. Yadav wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The SP chief further targeted the BJP-led Central government over the farmers’ protest. “Nearly 800 farmers sacrificed their lives while fighting against the three black laws of the government. The farmers want an Minimum Support Prices law, they must get at least legal rights. The economy will reach $5 trillion only when our farmers are happy,” Mr. Yadav said.
The M.P. CM visited Azamgarh in Eastern U.P. to participate in the Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana of the BJP. Only twice in the last 10 Parliamentary elections, the Yadav dominated constituency has elected a non-Yadav from the seat. He addressed party workers and office bearers from Azamgarh, Ghosi, Ballia, Lalganj, and Salempur Parliamentary segments. The BJP named the combined area as Azamgarh Lok Sabha cluster for the 2024 election.
As part of the saffron party’s outreach to the ‘Yadav’ community, the M.P. CM held a meeting with BJP functionaries in Azamgarh, a Samajwadi Party stronghold formerly represented by party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the Lok Sabha before he resigned from the seat and opted to enter the U.P. Assembly.
In 2019, the BJP lost four seats in the region and lost all the 10 seats in Azamgarh district during 2022 Assembly election. The Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat was represented by the Opposition SP for the better part of the last three decades.
