Story perspectives

Akhilesh Yadav Challenges Yogi Adityanath to Ayodhya Run

By Drooid · Oct 9, 2026, 4:15 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party president, challenged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to run from Ayodhya.
Yadav said the BJP is nervous and lacks a candidate for the Ayodhya seat.
He promised INR40,000 annually to each woman if the SP forms the next Uttar Pradesh government.
BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, who beat former MLA Pawan Pandey in 2022, dismissed the challenge and forecast 300-plus seats.

History

Historical Context

The 16th-century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya became the flashpoint of Hindu nationalist mobilization when the VHP, BJP and RSS held a rally of about 150,000 people on 6 December 1992 that demolished the mosque, sparking riots that killed 2,000 people. The demolition boosted BJP leader L.K. Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra and reshaped Uttar Pradesh politics, echoed in today’s contest between Akhilesh Yadav and Yogi Adityanath.

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Story summary

Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party president, challenged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to run from Ayodhya.
Yadav said the BJP is nervous and lacks a candidate for the Ayodhya seat.
He promised INR40,000 annually to each woman if the SP forms the next Uttar Pradesh government.
BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, who beat former MLA Pawan Pandey in 2022, dismissed the challenge and forecast 300-plus seats.

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