Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath continued to send out subtle political messages on the second day of his three-day curb on campaigning in the ongoing Lok Sabha election by visiting a Dalit’s home for lunch and meeting triple talaq victims in Ayodhya on Wednesday.
Yogi offered prayers at Hanumangarhi temple and recited Hanuman Chalisa. In the evening, he went for darshan of Ram Lalla and then took part in aarti on the banks of the Saryu river.
The Chief Minister started his Ayodhya sojourn by visiting the house of Mahavir, a Dalit, at Suthati Malin Basti and had food with the family members.
Mahavir’s wife Savitri said that the visit of the Chief Minister to their house was like god paying them a visit.
“We did not have enough to offer. The Chief Minister had roti and sabzi and later took gur (jaggery) and water,” she said.
Savitri told reporters that the Chief Minister was pained at the condition of her house and offered help to get it repaired.
Before lunch, Yogi met a six-year-old girl, Neha Soni, and took her on his lap after which the girl came up with several innocent questions.
When the Chief Minister asked whether she was afraid of coming there, the girl said where was the fear when Yogiji was there. She even sang a song, much to the amusement of the Chief Minister.
Later, Yogi went to nearby Ashrafi Bhawan on foot and spoke to the people standing in the by-lanes. He also spoke to students and enquired about their studies. He even assured houses to some.
Yogi went to Maniram Das Chhavani to meet Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and later to Digambar Akhada.
The day for the Chief Minister started with meeting triple talaq victim Nazia. Earlier, Nazia along with her sister had met Yogi Adityanath at his official residence in Lucknow and sought financial help.
Later, Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan met the Chief Minister to seek his blessings before launch of his poll campaign from Gorakhpur.
“I took the blessings of the Gorakshnath temple mahant and Chief Minister of UP before launching my campaign. After his blessing, no one can defeat me now,” Kishan said.
The Bhojpuri actor-singer has been fielded as BJP candidate from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, represented by Yogi Adityanath for five times before he became the Chief Minister of the Uttar Pradesh in March 2017.
However, in the bypoll to the Gorakhpur seat, Samajwadi Party candidate Praveen Nishad, who was supported by Rashtriya Lok Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party, was declared elected, defeating the BJP candidate.
The Chief Minister also met divyang girls at Government Blind College and enquired about their studies and facilities being provided to them.
On Thursday, the last day of his ban, Yogi is likely to go to Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Election Commission had banned Yogi from campaigning for 72 hours starting 6 am on Tuesday for delivering a speech which violated the Model Code of Conduct.
