Public holiday on Parshuram Jayanti if SP voted to power: Akhilesh Yadav

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday (January 2) said that his party will declare Parshuram Jayanti as a public holiday in the state if they are voted to power in the upcoming assembly polls. The former chief minister made the remarks during an exclusive conversation with Zee News.

Earlier, Yadav offered prayers at a newly constructed Lord Parshuram temple in Lucknow, a gesture seen as one of many attempts to woo the state's Brahmin voters. Yadav was joined by a number of Brahmin community leaders from the state.

Along with Yadav, former SP MLA from Lambhua (Sultanpur) Santosh Pandey offered floral tributes to the 68-foot-high statue of Lord Parshuram.

Hoardings reading "Brahman ka sankalp, Akhilesh hi vikalp" (Brahmin's pledge, Akhilesh is the only option), were put up at the site.

The move is being seen as an attempt to woo Brahmin voters ahead of the Assembly polls in the state. Family members of expelled BSP MLA from Gorakhpur's Chillupar seat, Vinay Shankar Tiwari, were present on this occasion.

Former Speaker of UP Legislative Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, former minister Manoj Pandey and other prominent Brahmin leaders were present on this occasion.

On December 12, the Samajwadi Party got a shot in the arm when two sitting MLAs--Vinay Shankar Tiwari (BSP) and Digvijay Narayan of the BJP from Khalilabad constituency in Sant Kabir Nagar-- joined the party.

Former chairman of the UP Legislative Council, Ganesh Shankar Pandey, also joined the Samajwadi Party.