Battle for UP: SP leader sends air ticket for Yogi, lock for BJP

First he booked an air ticket for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for March 11 to Gorakhpur and now he has ordered a lock from Aligarh for Swatantra Dev Singh at the BJP headquarters in Lucknow.

I.P. Singh, Samajwadi Party spokesman, apparently believes in getting maximum publicity with minimum effort.

Following the resignations of four BJP MLAs, including minister Swami Prasad Maurya, on Tuesday, I.P. Singh tweeted that he had placed an order for a lock that would be delivered to the BJP office so that their leaders can lock it up and go home after March 10 -- the day votes will be counted.

Two days ago, Singh had shared a screenshot of an air ticket he had booked for 'Mr Yogi Adityanath' for March 11 on an Air India flight to Gorakhpur.

"I have done this as a goodwill gesture. Yogi Adityanath has been the chief minister for five years and deserves an air ticket for homeward journey," he told reporters.

I.P. Singh, incidentally, was in the BJP before he was expelled in 2019 for praising Akhilesh Yadav. He joined the Samajwadi Party and is now one of the most vocal critics of the BJP.