PM Narendra Modi will celebrate Dussehra in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow tomorrow (File photo)
Behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Uttar Pradesh for Dussehra tomorrow, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sees more than just festive cheer.
"If there were elections in Bihar, perhaps he would have gone there," he said today in Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh will host crucial assembly elections early next year.
"I feel festivities should be kept aside from politics. But if the PM is visiting UP, he must have thought this through. Could be that he might gift something to the state of UP," he said.
At a huge rally yesterday, opposition leader Maywati, who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, also said PM Modi's visit is "politically motivated".
In a departure from tradition, PM Modi will not participate in celebrations at Delhi's famous Ramlila grounds, but in Lucknow, where he will set fire to a massive Ravan effigy symbolising the "demon of terror".
The BJP had swept Uttar Pradesh in national elections in 2014 - PM Modi came to power with an overwhelming majority - winning 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The elections next year are expected to be a pitched, four-way battle between the BJP, the Congress, the ruling Samajwadi Party and the opposition BSP.