Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at BJP amid rumours of discord in the Yogi Adityanath government with a cryptic post on X, stirring up speculation. Now representing Kannauj in the Lok Sabha, Yadav’s latest jab reads, “Monsoon offer: bring 100, form the government.”

The post seemingly recalls Yadav’s earlier “offer” to Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. In a TV interview, Yadav had called Maurya as “very weak,” daring him to gather his claimed 100 MLAs for chief ministerial ambitions, pledging Samajwadi Party’s support.

“He had dreamt of becoming Chief Minister, he should get 100 MLAs. He had once claimed that he has the support of over a 100 MLAs. He should get them, Samajwadi Party will support him (for Chief Minister),” the former UP chief minister had said.

Maurya recently caused a stir with his “organisation bigger than the government” remark in UP political circles—a veiled swipe at CM Adityanath, who blamed “overconfidence” for BJP’s Lok Sabha setback in UP.

A senior Samajwadi Party leader said that Yadav’s “monsoon offer” is a message to BJP MLAs mulling a switch.

“The SP won 111 seats in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and if we get the support of 100 dissatisfied BJP MLAs, then we will easily form the government,” the Samajwadi Party leader quipped.

Friction within the BJP has escalated following its underwhelming performance in Uttar Pradesh, sparking speculation of a power struggle between Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya. Supporters on both sides are pointing fingers at each other for the poll drubbing. The BJP secured 36 seats compared to the Congress-Samajwadi Party’s 43.

Speculation about discord between the leaders surfaced after Maurya skipped several cabinet meetings chaired by Adityanath over the past month. On Wednesday, both deputy Chief Ministers Maurya and Brijesh Pathak skipped the meeting of ministers chaired by the CM.

Delhi is closely monitoring the situation, urging state leaders to mend fences and focus on the upcoming bypolls for 10 Assembly seats. Party insiders have dismissed rumours of leadership changes.

Cornering the BJP over the infighting in its UP unit, Yadav said that BJP leaders are fighting among themselves and it’s affecting governance.

“The people know about the corruption and are fed up with the game of thrones,” Yadav said at a party event.