As the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are ready to take a start in 2027, political parties have started gearing up for the contest. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited Gorakhpur on Wednesday, appeared in full swing of the campaign, launching sharp digs at the opposition.
The chief minister was speaking at a workers’ interaction program held at the Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnath Auditorium, organized to mark nine years of the state government’s tenure under the theme ‘Nine Years of Unprecedented Development and Continuous Prosperity in Uttar Pradesh.’
Referring to the construction of the Ram Temple, he said that what could not be achieved for generations has now become a reality. He said that places like Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Maa Vindhyavasini Dham have witnessed a significant change. “Visit any temple and you will notice the change. We have allocated funds for the beautification of around 1,500 temples. Earlier, this was not the case. Temples did not receive such facilities. The money used to go to कब्रिस्तान (graveyards),” he said.
“They claim we diverted funds meant for graveyards. We did not divert anything. It was government and public money. You preferred spending it on graveyards; we prefer spending it on temples. People act according to what they value,” he said, referring to the remarks by a Samajwadi Party leader.
Furthermore, the chief minister said that this is the first government in Uttar Pradesh that has completed a full five-year term and returned to power with a two-thirds majority. “This was possible because party workers worked at the grassroots level,” he said.
He also spoke about Ayodhya and said that earlier people visited the city, which faced police actions and poor conditions, and today the same city has emerged as a beautiful city with a grand Ram Temple included in it.
Moving further, he said, “Booklets have been distributed at the division, ward, and booth levels. These achievements must be discussed at the grassroots. If we do not talk about them, people will forget.
Targeting dynastic politics, the chief minister said the state had once faced an identity crisis marked by mafia influence and poor governance, which he attributed to caste-based and family-driven politics. “Such politics prevented capable workers from rising, with power concentrated within a single family,” he said.
“If you mentioned where you were from, people would step back,” he remarked.
Posing a set of questions, the chief minister asked who was behind the state’s identity crisis, who denied development to generations, and who failed to respond to children suffering from encephalitis. He said the state has moved from power shortages to a more stable electricity supply.
“People once struggled for an AIIMS; today it has been established. Under the double-engine government led by Prime Minister Modi, encephalitis has been effectively controlled,” he said.
The chief minister, highlighting the changes over the past nine years, said that Uttar Pradesh has transformed from unrest to celebrations. “Those who once pushed the state into riots and instability should not be allowed to find new issues. Do not become a tool in the hands of the opposition. Stay alert against those who try to use you,” he added.
