Akhilesh Yadav Campaigns For Civic Polls, Takes A Metro Ride In Lucknow

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday embarked on a metro train journey to campaign for the upcoming civic polls and accused the BJP of "stalling" work on the public transport project.

He travelled from the Singar Nagar metro station to the Bhootnath Market metro station in the Uttar Pradesh capital to canvass for his party's mayoral candidate Vandana Mishra.

Later, Mr Yadav accused the BJP of cheating the people by not ensuring cleanliness and turning the city into a garbage heap. Voting for the statewide elections will take place on May 4 and May 11, with polling in Lucknow in the first phase. Counting of votes will take place on May 13.

"Today, if metro trains were operational in the entire city, then it would have become the safest mode of public transport. But the BJP government by stopping work, not only stalled the metro project, but also stopped facilities given to the people," Mr Yadav told reporters during his metro train journey.

"Hence, by travelling in the metro (train), I would like to give the message, that if the SP is voted to power, then the metro rail project will be spread across Lucknow, which will solve the problem of transportation," he said while appealing to the people to vote for his party's candidate.

Talking to reporters at the Gomti river front, he accused the BJP of speaking lies and said that "people of the BJP are indulging in false publicity that they have made a Smart city".

Mr Yadav claimed that work on the metro rail was done during the tenure of the Samajwadi Party government but nothing further has taken place under the present dispensation.

"Had this work moved ahead, then Lucknow would have got a safe and clean transport (system)," he said.

Attacking the BJP, the SP chief accused it of cheating the people and said it has "not undertaken cleanliness anywhere and only increased dirt and corruption".

To a question on metro rail in Gorakhpur, Mr Yadav said, "Recently, I had been to Gorakhpur. People there were worried that the metro (rail) has not been built..." He said, "People who speak about 'double engine' (BJP government at the Centre and state) do not have the power to build metro (rail) in Gorakhpur." "In this monsoon season, the people of Gorakhpur will have to move using boats," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in an apparent reference to preparations for the season.

Gorakhpur Urban is represented by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the assembly.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)