Akhilesh Yadav: BJP fears defeat, more Opposition leaders will get raided

Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, lashed out at the BJP, saying that the I-T department searches on the homes of his close aides on Saturday were the result of the ruling BJP's fear of losing the impending elections. "The more the BJP's fear of defeat increases, the round of raids on the opposition will also increase, yet the chariot of the SP and every program will continue unabated," he tweeted.

This comes after the Income Tax Department searched the Mau home of Samajwadi Party (SP) national secretary Rajeev Rai, a close ally of party head Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday morning. "I have no criminal background or black money. I help people and the government didn't like it. This is a result of that,' Rai told news agency ANI. The residences of two other aides of Yadav were also searched this morning.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the massive Ganga Expressway project in Shahjahanpur. The 594-kilometer highway, which is one of the country's longest, would improve connection between western and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj would be included. It would begin in Meerut's Bijauli hamlet and end near Prayagraj's Judapur Dandu.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi arrived in Lucknow this morning for the Jan Jagran Abhiyan Padyatra, from whence they would go to Amethi.