The Uttar Pradesh BJP said on Tuesday that Yadav had “crossed the line” by showing the video at a press conference and accused him of displaying an “anti-Sanatan mindset”. The party said the clip insulted saints, the Sanatan tradition and the faith of millions of Hindus.
The video, shown by Yadav at the SP headquarters in Lucknow on Monday, uses artificial intelligence to depict men in saffron robes stealing from a temple donation box and Adityanath smoking a chillum. Its accompanying song uses the line “UP badnaam hua, Baba tere maare”, a reference to the chief minister, whom Yadav frequently calls “Baba” in political attacks.
Senior BJP MP Jagdambika Pal criticised the portrayal, saying Yadav had served as chief minister and should maintain political dignity. He objected specifically to the depiction of Adityanath smoking a chillum and said voters would respond to such campaigning in the 2027 election.
Uttar Pradesh BJP general secretary Subrat Pathak also attacked the SP, saying Adityanath was “not just a chief minister” but a saint, and arguing that the video revealed the opposition party’s perception of religious figures. The BJP’s response turned the dispute from a campaign exchange into a broader argument over political messaging and religious symbolism.
Yadav defended the use of the video as a counter to AI-generated material circulated by BJP-aligned social media accounts targeting him. “If the BJP uses AI to make songs targeting me, we will also respond to those songs with songs,” he said.
The earlier video aimed at Yadav used an AI-generated portrayal of the SP leader and referred to him as “Teepu”. Its song used a matching refrain, “UP badnaam hua, Teepu tere maare”, while alleging that lawlessness had marked the period when Yadav headed the state government.
The SP’s media operation subsequently circulated its own material featuring Adityanath, while warning the BJP against using artificial intelligence to attack opposition leaders. Yadav alleged that AI-generated videos were also being made to defame him and his wife, Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, and said his party would not remain passive if the technology was used against it.
The confrontation has emerged alongside the SP’s formal organisational push for the 2027 polls. Yadav has directed district presidents and executive committee members to take allegations of corruption, governance failures and discrimination against the party’s PDA constituency to voters at the local level.
PDA, the formulation used by the SP for its social coalition, refers to backward communities, Dalits and minorities. The party is seeking to consolidate that bloc after its strong performance in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when it won 37 seats and emerged as the state’s largest parliamentary party.
Yadav has also used the campaign launch to attack the state government over unemployment, examination paper leaks, law and order and the condition of public institutions. He has accused the government of corruption and criticised what he says is the closure of thousands of government schools.
The BJP has rejected the SP’s accusations and accused Yadav’s party of attempting to create misleading narratives before the election. Uttar Pradesh minister Dayashankar Singh said the opposition was resorting to such tactics because it feared defeat, while BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi accused the SP of using misinformation to damage the ruling party’s image.
The dispute highlights the growing use of synthetic audio and video in electoral politics, where political parties and their supporters can rapidly produce personalised attacks, parody songs and manipulated imagery for social platforms. Neither party has indicated that it plans to withdraw from the contest over AI-generated campaign material.
