Deputy CM says BJP's UP win will make Oppn to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday said the Opposition leaders will begin chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Jai Shri Ram" soon after the BJP led UP government win in the 2022 Assembly elections.

"Soon after the formation of the BJP government after a landslide victory in the 2022 Assembly elections, you will see even opposition leaders chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Jai Shree Ram," Mr Maurya tweeted in Hindi.

The BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya, the number 2 in the Yogi Adityanath government, is contesting for the second time from Sirathu.

Taking swipe at the Opposition leaders, Mr Maurya said that the Opposition leaders who earlier believed going to temples was communal has started visiting them after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.

The UP Deputy Chief Minister was apparently commenting on Twitter on the former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who had visited 'Har Ki Pauri' in the poll-bound Uttarakhand's Haridwar on Saturday to seek blessings and offer his prayers.

Earlier, Maurya had said that regardless of the exit of backward caste leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya from the BJP, the party would "win with more seats" in the UP elections starting February 10.

"The opposition has the right to field a candidate, but whether people vote for them will be clear on March 10. I believe that the lotus (BJP's symbol) will bloom even if the Samajwadi Party, BSP and Congress fight together," the UP Deputy Chief Minister said.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be held in seven phases from February 10 to March 7. The counting of votes will be done on March 10.