Yogi Adityanath says Congress won state polls through deceit

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath played down the Congress victories in three Hindi heartland states, claiming the party had won through deceit. Speaking at Patna’s Mahavir temple a day after the BJP lost power in those states, he said the Congress’s lies would soon be exposed and that this would make future contests easier for the BJP.

A stopover in Patna

Adityanath broke his journey in Patna while returning from Janakpur in Nepal, where he had attended the Vivah Panchami celebrations at the Janaki temple. He had campaigned widely in the Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana elections. During the stop he also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

On defeat and EVMs

Speaking to the media, Adityanath said that winning and losing are part of democracy and both should be accepted with humility. He claimed the BJP did not blame electronic voting machines for its defeats, unlike rivals who, he alleged, criticised EVMs when they lost and praised them when they won.

The Hanuman remark

He denied that remarks attributed to him about the caste of Lord Hanuman had cost the party votes. “I did not say anything about Bajrang Bali’s caste,” he said, explaining that he had described Hanuman as residing in spirituality, which is present in people of every caste. A right-wing group in Rajasthan had sent him a legal notice demanding an apology within three days for allegedly calling the deity a Dalit at a rally in Alwar district.

The outcome

The Congress won Chhattisgarh decisively, took Rajasthan by a narrow margin and won Madhya Pradesh with support from the Bahujan Samaj Party and Independents.

What happened next

Kamal Nath became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh.

Originally published on 13 December 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us