Overview
- Film-inspired hoardings by a group called Youth Against Mafia appeared across Lucknow and Amethi on Tuesday, prompting police to inspect locations and begin inquiries.
- The posters ask voters to choose between “Akhilesh’s Lyari Raj” and a “Dhurandhar CM,” using clippings of past riots and news about action against gangsters to frame the contrast.
- Organisers list their own names on the hoardings and say the drive targets Gen Z, describing Youth Against Mafia as a students’ outfit with no party ties.
- Identical banners were reported in at least ten districts, including Sitapur, Hardoi, Jaunpur, Barabanki, Azamgarh, Noida, Pratapgarh and Gonda, signaling a coordinated rollout.
- The Samajwadi Party denounces the campaign as BJP propaganda and removed several hoardings in Lucknow, while Akhilesh Yadav urges media to judge the claims using NCRB crime data.