"Yogi Adityanath Flying To...": Akhilesh Yadav's Retort On London Jibes

Yogi Adityanath has "booked a plane ticket from Lucknow to Gorakhpur" for March 11, Akhilesh Yadav jibed today on the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, as BJP leaders put out multiple posts alleging that the Samajwadi Party chief is flying to London after the UP election result.

"The polling results will be out on March 10 but our Baba Mukhya Mantri has booked a plane ticket from Lucknow to Gorakhpur for March 11. Imagine how scared are BJP leaders. Are they scared or not? (the crowd says yes) They don't know that there is a 440-volt current running among the people against the BJP," the Samajwadi Party leader said, addressing a rally in Bahraich.

The plane ride jibes began a while ago between the rivals. Now the screenshot of a plane ticket has gone viral. The so-called ticket, for an economy passenger from New Delhi to London with a stopover at Abu Dhabi, names "Mr Akhilesh Yadav" with "two pieces of baggage".

"It seems Akhilesh Yadav has surrendered already and admitted #YogiWillBeback," said one BJP supporter, Manoj Sharma.

Arun Yadav, the BJP leader who had controversially asked whether Shah Rukh Khan had "spit" at Lata Mangeshkar's funeral, chimed in: "Akhilesh Yadav's ticket to London for March 11 causes a sensation. Can someone tell us the truth?"

Last month, a Samajwadi Party spokesperson, IP Singh, had shared a screenshot of a plane ticket he said he had booked for "Mr Yogi Adityanath" on an "Air India flight to Gorakhpur".

Akhilesh Yadav is the main challenger as the BJP and Yogi Adityanath seek re-election in Uttar Pradesh.

UP has held four rounds in seven-phase voting for a new government. The results will be declared on March 10.