Lucknow, Sept. 21 -- With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, a poster in Lucknow featuring former Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders Atiq Ahmed, Azam Khan and Mukhtar Ansari targeted party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday.

The poster carried the words, "Azam, Atiq aur Mukhtar, yahi chalate thhey sarkar. Akhilesh ke mafia, mafia ke Akhilesh".

This comes ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with political parties increasingly sharpening their attacks against rivals over law and order, alleged criminal-political links and governance in the state.

Atiq Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party MP, was shot dead along with his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj in April 2023 while they were being taken for a medical examination. A...