Varanasi: Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav made it clear that he will not contest the assembly elections, saying he would take oath as chief minister while remaining a Lok Sabha member if his party comes to power.“I become CM even when I didn’t contest elections. In the past, I took oath as CM while being a Lok Sabha member. This time also, I will take oath as CM from the Lok Sabha,” said Akhilesh while replying to a question on whether he would try his luck from any seat in Varanasi.On a lighter note, he said that in Kashi, people look for a shubh muhurat and pay close attention to the timing of filing nominations. “So, I will do what is shubh for me,” he said.
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He took a jibe at the BJP after the party’s defeat in the Varanasi teachers’ and graduates’ MLC constituencies, saying Lord Vishwanath blessed the SP twice while handing the BJP a “double zero” in Kashi.Interacting with reporters at LBSI Airport, Akhilesh thanked voters for re-electing SP candidates Ashutosh Sinha and Lal Bihari Yadav. He said that the BJP’s repeated slogans of “double-engine govt”, “double speed” and “double development” has met with a double defeat.On being asked about skipping Kashi Vishwanath temple, Akhilesh said he had built temples of Lord Vishwanath and Lord Kedareshwar at his home and leaves only after offering prayers.Without naming Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, also known as Bageshwar Baba, he questioned where the bulldozers had gone in cases involving Sanatani people, referring to the controversy allegedly triggered by the Baba during a Ram Katha programme in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. He said Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav should send bulldozers to the place of such babas.Targeting the Yogi Adityanath govt over traffic, development and religious-site issues, Yadav alleged that tall claims had been made in the name of Kashi’s development, but even basic traffic congestion had not been addressed. Mocking the BJP’s development model, he said that if it could not make Varanasi “Kyoto”, it should at least put up a picture of Kyoto.He promised that if the SP forms the govt in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi would get a metro service. Akhilesh has already announced to introduce metro Service in Varanasi during his regime, but after coming to power, the BJP-led govts at centre and state discarded this proposal by preferring ropeway over it.He also tried wooing Pal voters by recalling the police action against their community during the episode of alleged destruction of idols at Manikarnika Ghat. He also targeted for allegedly closing 26000 schools, paper leaks, increased incidents of vandalising statues of BR Ambedkar, and influencing poll process to win through vote theft. Yadav alleged discrimination against Kashi under BJP rule and said youths would smile once the BJP was voted out.Akhilesh visited late district vice-president Rajesh Yadav’s family, met ailing former district president Satish Fauji and Rajesh Singh in Sundarpur before leaving for Lucknow.
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