Kicking off the poll campaign for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath revived the ‘Abba Jaan’ jibe on the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government in the state, accusing it of corruption. 

“Under PM Modi leadership, there is no place for appeasement politics….Before 2017 was everyone able to get ration?….Earlier only those who used to say ‘Abba Jaan’ were digesting the ration,” Adityanath said while addressing a rally in Kushinagar. 

The UP Chief Minister used the term ‘Abba Jaan’ (Urdu term for father) referring to Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, while taking a jibe at the latter’s son and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. 

Adityanath had triggered vociferous protests by the Samajwadi Party in the state legislative council last month when he had first referred to the party’s founder Mulayam Singh Yadav as “abba jaan”.

As SP leaders objected to the comments, alleging that the CM had used “unparliamentary language”, Adityanath responded by asking them since when “abba jaan” had become “unparliamentary”. When the CM pointed out that he did not take anyone’s name, the SP leaders moved into the well of the House even as Chairman Kunwar Manvendra Singh asked them to return to their seats and Adityanath continued with his speech.

The assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are less than six months away and political activities in the state are on full swing. The first round of ABP-CVoter pre-poll survey has predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP, suggesting a second straight term for the Yogi Adityanath government. The BJP will face a direct challenge from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party who have ruled out the possibility of any alliance for the upcoming assembly polls.