Bhasmasura will finish your party: BJP warns Akhilesh Yadav over tie-up with Congress

More than a month after the poll debacle, the BJP held a state executive committee meeting where it analysed the reasons behind the party's poll debacle.

In the middle of the introspection, BJP's state president Bhupendra Choudhary warned the SP, which is led by former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, over its tie-up with the Congress.

Choudhary claimed the Congress, which eyed the Muslim vote bank of SP, will soon cause harm to the prime opposition camp in Uttar Pradesh.

"Congress is like Bhasmasura ... it will gobble up your (Akhilesh) party ... Congress always uses smaller parties to win elections ...be careful," the BJP state president said as quoted by Deccan Herald.

In Hinduism, Bhasmasura is a demon who was granted the power to burn up or immediately or turn into ashes anyone whose head he touched with his hand.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which were held from April to June, the BJP saw its tally of seats tumbling from its previous figure of 62 to 33.

Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party won 37 seats and its ally Congress 6 in the state which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

Adityanath has cited the BJP's "overconfidence" as one of the reasons behind the party's setback in the state in the Lok Sabha elections.

Yogi made the introspection while addressing the BJP's state executive meeting, which was attended by several including Union Minister and party national president, Jagat Prakash Nadda.

"In 2024, the BJP managed to get the same vote percentage as in the previous elections, but vote- shifting and overconfidence hurt our expectations. The opposition, which had previously been on ventilator, has now got some oxygen," the Chief Minister said as quoted by Hindustan Times.