SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday appealed to party workers and leaders to prepare for the state polls and said the public has ended the politics of hatred with the victory of SP's Awadhesh Prasad from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat.

The Faizabad parliamentary constituency falls under the Ayodhya district and Prasad defeated BJP's Lallu Singh by a margin of about 55,000 votes in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Uttar Pradesh (UP) will go to polls in 2027.

According to a statement issued by the Samajwadi Party (SP), Yadav said, "The 2024 Lok Sabha elections have worked to change the politics of India. With the victory of Awadhesh Prasad, MP from Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency of Ayodhya district, the public has put an end to the politics of hatred." The SP supremo was addressing a large number of party workers, leaders, MLAs and newly elected Lok Sabha members at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Auditorium in the party's state headquarters here.

Singh had won the Lok Sabha polls from Faizabad for two consecutive times since 2014. He was prevented by Prasad from scoring a hat-trick.

His defeat also became a topic of discussion because on January 22, the consecration of Shri Ram Lalla took place in the grand Ayodhya temple under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yadav said, "We have got a historic victory. But this victory has increased our responsibility even more. We have to start preparing for the 2027 assembly elections from now itself.'' In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the SP won the highest number of 37 seats out of 80 in UP, giving a record performance since its inception. The SP's ally Congress also won six seats, while the BJP won 33, its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won two and Apna Dal (S) won one seat.

The Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) also won one seat.

The SP chief said, "The historic victory of the Samajwadi Party in this Lok Sabha election has increased the strength of Samajwadi Party and leaders and workers have been infused with new energy." "To achieve the goal of victory in the upcoming assembly elections, while we all have to keep our language right, we also have to learn to respect everyone," he said.

He asked the party leaders and workers to stay connected with the public and added that the blessings of the public are with them.

"No one can stand in front of the public. The public has broken the arrogance of the BJP in the elections. The BJP leaders cannot sleep now," he said.

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