Lucknow:
On Friday afternoon, as Akhilesh Yadav was welcoming seven rebel BJP leaders – two ex-ministers and five ex-MLAs who have considerable sway over OBC voters in the state – to his party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was lunching at a Dalit household in Gorakhpur.
The Chief Minister, whose party and government are on the ropes after 10 MLAs (and a 11th from allies Apna Dal) walked out this week less than 30 days before polls, hit back at Mr Yadav, declaring “social exploitation” and not “social justice” was common in UP under Samajwadi Party rule.
The BJP government, on the other hand, the Chief Minister said, was working for the development of every section of society without any discrimination.
His statement is significant in light of the criticism (nearly identical in each case) from the OBC leaders who quit between Tuesday and Thursday – that the Yo
