Pilibhit, UP:

In an apparent dig at his own party, BJP MP Varun Gandhi asked people at an event in UP not to disturb a sadhu standing nearby as nobody knows “when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the Chief Minister”.

On Monday, when he was addressing party workers in his constituency Pilibhit, the sadhu’s phone started ringing. But the BJP MP stopped workers from asking the sadhu to switch it off.

“Please do not not stop him, never know when ‘maharaaj ji’ will become the Chief Minister. Then what will happen to us?” Mr Gandhi joked.

The video of the incident surfaced online with people interpreting it as a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the Gorakshpeethadheeshwar of Gorakshpeeth. Mr Adityanath is always in a sadhu’s dress.

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