Lucknow:

Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a dip in the Ganga river in Haridwar on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Tuesday.

“Taking Maa Ganga’s blessing on Makar Sankranti festival,” he said in a post on social media platform X and attached with it pictures of him taking a dip in the river.

मकर संक्रांति के पावन पर्व पर लिया माँ गंगा का आशीर्वाद। pic.twitter.com/Rx1ZRHsH7m

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 14, 2025

Though the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister did not disclose the location, party sources said he took the dip in Haridwar.

Asked whether he would be visiting the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Mr Yadav on Sunday said he had visited the religious congregation always.

“Some people go to bathe in Ganga to gain ‘punya’ (virtue), some people go to give ‘daan’ (donate) and some people go to wash away their sins. We will go for ‘punya’ and for ‘daan,'” he had told reporters.

In 2019, Mr Yadav had taken a bath in Prayagraj during Ardha Kumbh.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)