Putting political bitterness aside, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over phone to extend his best wishes on the latter’s 48th birthday on Thursday. Yogi Adityanath also enquired about the health of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was admitted to a hospital in Gurugram on Wednesday.
Later, the chief minister also posted a tweet saying, “I pray to Lord Ram for your best health and long life.”
Earlier on June 5, Akhilesh Yadav had wished Yogi Adityanath on the chief minister’s birthday.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party workers celebrated the occasion across the state by cutting cakes and performing puja for the well-being of their party president. Some party workers even organised bhandara and distributed free food to the poor and also distributed masks and sanitisers to the common people.
In Lucknow, the entire city was decked up with big hoardings and banners by SP leaders wishing their party president on his birthday. Besides, SP leaders also gave advertisements in newspapers to wish the former UP chief minister.
On the eve of Akhilesh Yadav’s birthday, the SP leaders and workers organised a plantation drive at Janeshwar Mishra Park in Lucknow and distributed fruits to patients at different hospitals of the city and elsewhere. A havan was also organised in Hazratganj area, praying for the long life of the leader.
In Varanasi, Samajwadi Party workers organised a blood donation camp in Shivpur area. It was inaugurated by Anand Mohan ‘Guddu’ and party workers donated around 100 units of the blood. “We want to help those needing blood in such difficult times. This is the best way to celebrate the birthday of our party chief,” Anand Mohan said.
Meanwhile, on his birthday, which also happens to be the National Doctors’ Day, Yadav tweeted and targeted the BJP once again.
“Heartiest congratulations and best wishes on National Doctors’ Day. In Corona times, when the BJP government failed miserably, doctors came forward and took the lead. It is the responsibility of the government to provide them all-round security. Doctor is another name for hope of life,” the SP chief tweeted.
Akhilesh was born in Saifai village of Etawah district on July 1, 1973. He completed his schooling from Dholpur Military School in Rajasthan and then went on to complete his master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Sydney, Australia. He started his political career by winning the Lok Sabha by-poll from Kannauj in 2000. In 2004 and 2009 too, Akhilesh was elected to the Lok Sabha. In 2012, the SP chief was the star campaigner of Samajwadi Party and took out a Rath Yatra across the state, which resulted in his party winning the Assembly polls bagging a whopping 225 seats and forming a majority government headed by Akhilesh when he was merely 38 years old.