Lucknow, Nov 7 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief, Om Prakash Rajbhar, on Saturday took a swipe at Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav over his claim that his party would return to power in Uttar Pradesh and he would become the Chief Minister again.
Reacting to Akhilesh Yadav’s assertion, Rajbhar said that the Samajwadi Party chief should prepare for his next life if he wished to become Chief Minister, as he would not get the opportunity in his present life.
“Prepare for your next life. You will not become the Chief Minister in this life,” Rajbhar told IANS, taking a dig at the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.
The remarks came after Akhilesh Yadav expressed confidence that the Samajwadi Party would return to power in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and that he would once again become the Chief Minister.
Earlier, addressing a gathering in Varanasi, Akhilesh Yadav had indicated that he would not contest the 2027 Assembly elections himself. Instead, he said that he would take the oath as Chief Minister directly from his position as a Lok Sabha member if the Samajwadi Party formed the government.
The SP chief also made several promises for Varanasi, including bringing a Metro rail project to the holy city if his party returned to power. He further assured that the Varuna river would be cleaned and that farmers would receive adequate compensation under his government.
Rajbhar also commented on the growing scale of the Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya, saying that the festival was attracting increasing public participation and gaining popularity with every passing year.
“The Deepotsav programme is gaining popularity day by day, and people’s attraction towards it is increasing. This is why it is being celebrated on a much larger scale than last year,” he said.
The minister also reacted to the Election Commission’s decision to provide another opportunity to people whose names have been left out of the voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in seven states, including Delhi.
Defending the Election Commission’s repeated efforts to ensure that eligible voters are included in the electoral rolls, Rajbhar said the poll body did not want anyone’s name to be excluded from the voter list.
“The Election Commission does not want anyone’s name to be left out of the voter list. That is why it is repeatedly publishing the lists and asking people to fill in the required forms or approach the authorities for assistance. If people are not taking the process seriously, what can the Election Commission do?” he said.
–IANS
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