'Watching soldiers fight': Paswan's dig at Akhilesh over UP polls remark

New Delhi witnessed a heated exchange between Union minister Chirag Paswan and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav over the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Paswan drew a comparison between Akhilesh's statement and a military commander staying away from the battlefield while his soldiers fight, emphasizing the need for leaders to lead from the front and guide their followers on the battlefield.

The LJP chief questioned whether Akhilesh was anxious about an anticipated defeat or concerned about his party's performance.

Akhilesh Yadav, who previously served as Uttar Pradesh chief minister from 2012 to 2017, announced on Tuesday that he would not contest the upcoming assembly elections, scheduled for early next year, and would instead assume the chief minister position directly from the Lok Sabha. This move surprised Paswan, who questioned the SP president's apprehension and urged him to reconsider his decision.

Paswan also addressed the peculiar situation of assembly elections held after the Lok Sabha polls, where the BJP lost its parliamentary majority, while the BJP-led coalition managed to win state elections in Maharashtra. He argued that the opposition parties, SP and Congress, were able to secure votes by spreading misinformation and claiming that the Constitution and reservation were under threat.

However, now the BJP finds itself worried that voters may not back them in the assembly elections, as was observed in Maharashtra. The BJP had won 33 out of Uttar Pradesh's 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2024, a decline from 71 in 2014 and 62 in 2019, while SP and Congress, as allies, secured 37 and six seats, respectively.