While Akash has not spared the Congress or SP in his speeches, he has reserved his sharpest words for the ruling party. A look at Akash’s speeches last month, when his campaigning began, bears this out:

April 6, Nagina:

In his first rally for these Lok Sabha polls, Akash said BJP leaders feel proud when people call their government “bulldozer ki sarkar” and that they are fools (murkh) for thinking that way. “They don’t understand that this is not something to be proud of but something to feel embarrassed about.”

April 24, Gorakhpur:

Akash called Uttar Pradesh the “kidnapping capital” of the country. He said he would not call Yogi Adityanath’s government “bulldozer ki sarkar” anymore because it was “gaddaron ki sarkar (a government of traitors)”.

April 28, Unnao:

Akash accused the BJP government of ruining the education sector in the past 10 years. He said: “Yeh kamal ka phool khila hai… kyunki isne Bharat ko keechad bana rakha hai (The lotus is blooming because the BJP has turned India into muck).” He had added that time has come to uproot and burn the lotus, the BJP’s poll symbol, and put the country back on the path of growth.

On the free ration scheme, Akash said: “Itni padhai likhai karkar, itni mehnat karkar bhikhari banane ke liye yeh satta me baithey the? Bataiye 80 crore janata ko bana diya na bhikhari aur garib? (After studying and working hard, have we placed them in power just to make us beggars? Haven’t they made 80 crore people beggars and poor)?” he said.

Akash also said that considering the way the BJP government was functioning, the day was not far when the world would compare it with the Taliban. “Yeh logon ki sarkar tabahi ki sarkar hai, na ki tarakki ki sarkar hai (Their government is destructive, not progressive),” he said.

Targeting the SP, Akash said Muslims had supported the party in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but its leaders never uttered a word on the atrocities against the community.

About the Congress, he said it ruled at the Centre for more than 60 years but did nothing for the Bahujan community.

April 28, Sitapur:

The same day as the Unnao speech, Akash called the BJP government “atankwadiyon ki sarkar (a government of terrorists)”. In his address, he asked the crowd which party had been in power at the Centre over the past 10 years. “BJP nahi, choron ki party satta me rahi hai (It’s not BJP, but a party of thieves that has been in power),” he said.

Again accusing the BJP government of being responsible for the “declining quality” of education in government schools, Akash told voters to beat BJP workers with slippers, shoes and sticks if they came seeking votes. “Vote mangne aaye… to chappal, juta aur danda maar-maar ke usko bata dena ki jo tum logon ne hamare se shiksha cheeni hai uske badle tumko vote nahi yeh danda milega (when they come to appeal for votes, beat them with slippers, shoes and sticks for depriving you of education).”

Akash said a government that keeps children hungry, allows atrocities against women, keeps youths unemployed and makes people slaves (ghulam) in the name of free rations is “atankwadiyon ki sarkar” (a government of terrorists). He repeated the Taliban jibe, saying Afghanistan has an administration such as this.

On the SP, he said the party considers the Yadav community its “jageer” (asset).

He also said the Congress was advocating reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes just because it was struggling for survival.