Lucknow, Oct. 23 -- The political atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh heated up on Friday after controversial hoardings targeting Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and his party surfaced at the busy National PG College crossing in Lucknow.

The hoarding carried a stinging rhyming caption in Hindi: "Sapaiyon ka kya bharosa - Chai, samosa, rasmalai, saare mafia apne bhai".

The poster features an image of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav wearing a white prayer cap, placed alongside images of slain gangster-turned-politicians Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari, as well as jailed senior party leader Mohammad Azam Khan.

The controversial poster surfaced in the wake of Akhilesh Yadav's recent visit to the Rampur district jail to meet Azam Khan, an engagemen...