On Thursday, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that Samajwadi Party has become history and will never return in power to the state. Taking a dig at Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Yogi stated that no one will know Uttar Pradesh by ‘Saifai Mahotsav’ and the people who organized it are now ‘past’.

“The state is now identified with ‘Divya Kumbh’ and ‘Grand Deepotsav’, it will remain the same. Those who yearn to make the state’s identity with ‘Saifai Mahotsav’ are now history, history will remain”, he tweeted.

This is a day after Mulayam Singh Yadav citing the occasion of 73rd Republic Day said that he would make all kinds of sacrifices to protect the constitution and further strengthen the security and honour of the country. Addressing the SP workers at state headquarters yesterday, he also said that the party would stand by the farmers and wage workers.

He pledged to resolve all problems faced by citizens and said that the party will keep up to the faith shown by the people of Uttar Pradesh.

What was the Saifai Mahotsav?

Saifai annual festival used to be held in the ancestral village Saifai of the Yadav family almost every year between December and January since the mid-1990s. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s nephew Ranvir Singh had first held the festival at the block level in 1996. Subsequently, the then CM Mulayam Singh Yadav scaled it up and named it after Ranvir who was the first block pramukh of Saifai and who died in 2002.

According to the reports, the annual festival often courted controversy back in SP’s regime in Uttar Pradesh due to issues like trade tax holidays for the purchase of vehicles from the village Saifai amidst the festival. During the Samajwadi Party rule, Akhilesh Yadav used to ferry Bollywood stars in chartered planes to perform at the festival, using government funds.

But if you thought that it was similar to any other humble State function, you are wrong. According to a CNN IBN report, the Samajwadi Party-led UP government spent around crores of rupees during one of the editions of the annual event.

And the most eye-catching part was the participation of the Bollywood celebrities. Some of the most popular Bollywood stars participated and performed at the annual fair.

The Saifai Mahotsav was actually a huge logistical exercise too. CNN IBN reported, “The Akhilesh government has spent a total of roughly Rs 20 crore in this event. Film stars are officially working pro bono, but unofficial estimates vary from Rs 5 to 10 crore. Seven chartered planes fetched stars from Mumbai and Delhi. Sitting arrangements were made for 25,000 people but over a lakh viewed the glitz. Over 2,000 police officers were deployed.”

And then there was more extravaganza in the form of tax holidays for purchasing vehicles from Saifai during the festival.

After wide controversy and criticism over state spending on a political family’s entertainment event, the organization of Saifai Mahotsav was canceled in 2016 during Samajwadi Party’s government itself and it was decided that the festival would be never be organized again.

The annual festival hasn’t been held since 2016. During the January 2016 edition, then CM Akhilesh Yadav did not attend the event due to the expulsion of two of his close aides by Mulayam Singh Yadav on charges of anti-party activities during panchayat polls. They were reinstated later and Akhilesh attended the annual event at its grand finale.

But in January 2017, there were reports of a political feud in the Yadav family, and the festival was not held. Yet, at the peak of its grandeur, Saifai Mahotsav used to court controversy.

In 2014, for example, crores were spent on the annual festival, the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riot victims were suffering in refugee camps. And then the annual celebrations did not seem to be appropriate amidst frequent reports of crimes in UP including violence against women.

Anyhow, it was defended with different logic. A cabinet minister at the time, Rajendra Chowdhury had said, “The Mahostava has proved as a platform to promote youth power. Persons excelling in different fields were honoured during the event. Ignoring all the programs and only highlighting performances of Bollywood stars at Saifai shows a biased attitude towards SP.”

On the other hand, Mulayam Singh Yadav had said that villagers too had a right to enjoy Bollywood performances. Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had himself said, “The media should apologize to me, to Netaji (Mulayam Singh) for their reports on Saifai,” while claiming that only about Rs. 1 crore had been spent on one of the annual editions.

Today UP is becoming a hub of religious tourism, cultural significance, and business investments. The state has come a long way from the era of Saifai Mahotsav.

Deepotsav and Mahakumbh

In what it actually means to nurture India’s cultural legacy, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath, for the last four years has been celebrating the grand Deepotsav at Ayodhya during Chhoti Diwali. The birthplace of Lord Rama at Ayodhya every year is lit up with lakhs of earthen lamps to celebrate his triumphant return from Lanka.

The Yogi government ensures that every year, 9-10 lakhs earthen lamps are procured from each of the thousands of villages in the state to reach Ayodhya for the Deepotsav. This gives a boost to the small-scale artisans, traders and ultimately boosts the state economy, promoting Ayodhya as a center for cultural and spiritual tourism.

The Yogi Adityanath led government had also scaled up the grand celebrations of Divya Kumbh last in the state. The boost in infrastructure development, providing amenities and security during the Kumbh has been bringing millions of pilgrims from all over the world to the state. Both the Deepotsav and the Kumbh have made it to record books and international news, promoting Uttar Pradesh as a cultural tourism hub.

Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from 10 February to 7 March 2022 in seven phases to elect all 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022.