UP Elections: Yogi Adityanath is contesting his first Assembly election (File)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a swipe at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Monday - amid voting for the second phase of polls - declaring the brother-sister duo "are enough" to bring down their party and that the GOP "should be left to its fate".
"I went to Uttarakhand (to campaign for today's single-phase poll) and said... No one else needs to work on ending Congress... both siblings will do that themselves. I appealed to people... don't make Congress a burden on the people of Uttarakhand," Adityanath told news agency ANI.
Earlier, while campaigning in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal, he had said: "Where there is little existence brother and sister are enough to push it down. So it should be left to its fate."
Adityanath also alleged conflict between Ms Gandhi Vadra, who has been at the forefront of the Congress' UP campaign and was, briefly, rumoured to be the chief ministerial face, and her brother.
Ms Gandhi Vadra later batted the claim away with a smile, saying: "... conflict is in Yogiji's mind... owing to the rift in the BJP (between Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah)" and that "I can give my life for my brother".
A five-time Lok Sabha MP contesting his first state election, Yogi Adityanath has been busy making outrageous remarks as the BJP bids to return to power in UP and Uttarakhand.
Speaking to ANI Monday, the Chief Minister repeated the "80 vs 20" remark he made last month, but then claimed he did not make the comment in the context of religion.
Last month, when Adityanath said "the fight is now 80 versus 20", it was seen as implying a Hindu-Muslim divide in Uttar Pradesh, where the population corresponds roughly to that ratio.
Before that Adityanath repeatedly used "abba jaan" or "people who say abba jaan" in what was seen as a barb against Muslims and his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief.
And yesterday, a day before voting, he referred to "religious fanatics with Talibani mindset" who dream of "Ghazwa-e-Hind" (holy conquest of India) - a term used by Pak-based radical Islamists.
Uttar Pradesh is voting for a new government in a seven-phase election that began February 10, with 55 constituencies across nine districts, including those in eight sensitive areas with sizeable Muslim populations - polling today.
Uttarakhand and Goa, both also BJP-ruled states, are also voting today.
Results for all states will be declared on March 10.