Narendra Modi a marketing man, can even lay claim to Taj Mahal: Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Strong sales and marketing inputs have gone into Narendra Modi’s campaign strategy, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said here on Friday. “Yeh sales aur marketing ke log hain. Inhey agar America ka visa milta to Taj Mahal ko bhi claim kar lete (They know their sales and marketing well. If they were granted a US visa, they would have even claimed they built the Taj Mahal), Yadav said.

The CM was speaking at an event to flag off a radio taxi service in 13 municipal cities. Akhilesh ridiculed Modi’s dig that Gujarat lions would soon take over UP’s Chambal Valley. Implying UP knows how to tame Gujarati lions, Akhilesh said the state was preparing to cage them within a “grand” 300-acre enclosure . Cheekily, he added that if Gujarat gave UP its lions , the country’s most populous state had sent its share of “animals” to it.

Akhilesh, who has so far steered clear of political muck raking, was more vocal than usual. A day after the SP rally in Bareilly drew large numbers, the CM’s comments put a question mark on reports of a tacit understanding between SP and BJP. He said the real battle of votes in UP was now actually a grassroots fight over development. “This is a battle of development in which SP is bound to win. People who are nothing more than media constructs will be demolished by the media,” he added.

“People from other states may come and stake claim, but if you look at history you will know UP produces prime ministers ,” he said, hinting at SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s prime ministerial aspirations.