Jhansi: Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday said that BJP will win the 2027 UP elections, while the Samajwadi Party would be reduced to the status of Saifai Party (Saifai is SP’s home turf).On the rumours of several SP MLAs and MPs planning to defect to the BJP, Maurya said BJP does not believe in breaking any party, nor is it in contact with rival party members.Asked about the alleged financial irregularities in Ram temple donations, he said an SIT investigation is underway and whosoever is found guilty will be punished. Maurya also defended Ram temple trust general secretary Champat Rai, saying he is a great and respectable Ram Bhakt who is wholeheartedly devoted to the works of Lord Ram and the temple.On Akhilesh Yadav’s demand for an SIT investigation on frequent visits of BJP members to Ayodhya and questions being raised over financial irregularities in Mathura temple, Maurya said the SP chief is in the habit of posting on social media while sitting in Lucknow and added that Akhilesh and his family are ‘Ram Virodhi’.“Ayodhya is a centre of faith for crores of Hindus, and it is a conspiracy to malign the Hindu culture by anti-Ram and anti-Hindu factions,” said Maurya.Reacting to a statement by the opposition that Lord Ram belongs to Muslims too, the deputy CM said there was nothing wrong in it. “Muslims were also Hindus earlier, and Lord Ram is the ancestor of all of us. The only thing is, we consider him as god and they consider him as their ancestor,” Maurya said.On Akhilesh Yadav’s claim that Ayodhya will prove to be the Kurukshetra for BJP (it will lose UP polls), Maurya said Akhilesh should restrain himself from such statements since Ayodhya is a centre of religious faith for crores of Hindus, and it is a matter of pride that Ram Temple was built there after a wait of 500 years.On SP veteran Shivpal Yadav’s claim that he has defeated him (Maurya) several times, the deputy CM said Shivpal is a big leader and should focus on his nephew (Akhilesh Yadav) and not worry about me.
