Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and Member of Parliament Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had planned to use the Maha Kumbh as a platform for political purposes. He claimed that there were discussions within the BJP to announce Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the party's prime ministerial candidate during the religious gathering, thereby turning it into a "political Kumbh" instead of maintaining its religious significance.

Speaking to the media, Yadav remarked, "It is being heard that during the Maha Kumbh, it was their plan to announce his (CM Yogi Adityanath) name as the Prime Minister's face. They wanted to make this a political Kumbh. This was not a religious Kumbh."

The statement comes amidst ongoing political tensions between the SP and BJP, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where both parties are competing for political dominance. Yadav’s remarks have added fuel to the growing discourse around the role of religious events in electoral politics.

While Yadav did not provide concrete evidence of such a plan, his statement points to the increasing politicization of religious and cultural events in the run-up to future elections.