NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday challenged Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to contest the upcoming assembly elections from Ayodhya. Akhilesh also said he would soon visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya along with SP leaders for darshan.Addressing a gathering at a Shrimad Bhagwat Katha organised by SP leader and former Ayodhya MLA Tej Narayan Pandey, also known as Pawan Pandey, Akhilesh claimed the BJP had conducted several surveys since the SP announced its candidate for the Ayodhya seat, reported news agency PTI.
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“Ever since we announced our candidate, the BJP has been conducting survey after survey, and it is falling behind in every survey. We are hearing that they have not been able to find a new candidate for Ayodhya,” Akhilesh said.“If the chief minister, who makes tall claims, is so confident, he should contest the election from Ayodhya himself and prove it,” he said.Later, responding to questions from reporters about visiting the Ram temple, Akhilesh said he had earlier decided to do so after the completion of the Kedareshwar Dham temple in Etawah.“I had earlier resolved that after the completion of the Kedareshwar Dham, I would ask my party colleague Pawan Pandey to fix a date and we would all visit the Ram temple for darshan,” he said.The clarification comes amid BJP’s constant attack over his no visit to the Ram temple. The BJP has claimed that despite invitations, he has not offered prayers there owing to Muslim appeasement.
