Hoardings featuring prominent figures from the Samajwadi Party (SP), including national president Akhilesh Yadav and party member Azam Khan, appeared unexpectedly in Jhansi. The posters, displayed at Kachhari Chauraha and Jail Chauraha, also featured the images of deceased gangster-turned-politicians Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed. This development, which emerged late on Sunday night, has ignited a political controversy in the region, raising questions about the motivations behind their display and the implications for local politics.
He said he received a call around 2.30am informing him that the hoardings had been installed during the intervening night. Akash claimed the hoardings had been installed between 2am and 2.30am and were removed within half an hour of the party receiving information about them.
We do politics on public issues, go among people and raise their concerns,” he said. He alleged that the references to alleged mafia figures were intended to insult the SP national president and said the party workers removed the hoardings after learning about them. He said SP workers remained alert round the clock and would remove such hoardings whenever they came to know about them. On the photographs of local SP leaders on the hoardings, he said the images of a former MLA and former Rajya Sabha MP had been used and alleged that they were linked to “false cases”. Calling for an end to what he described as “small politics”, Akash said political parties should focus on public issues if they wanted to contest and win elections.
Talking to reporters, Akash alleged that the hoardings had been put up to tarnish the image of Akhilesh Yadav. “We can answer hoardings with hoardings, but we have not learnt this kind of politics. He further alleged that similar attempts to tarnish Akhilesh Yadav’s image were being made in several districts.
Though none of the hoardings were visible on Monday, but a video of them being removed by the SP party workers has gone viral on social media.