Ahead of 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls, clamour for renaming places grows

The bucket list includes districts such as Sultanpur, Aligarh, Firozabad, Deoband, Ghazipur, Basti and Mirzapur to name a few

In run-up to the high octane 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had in 2018 renamed Allahabad and Faizabad districts as Prayagraj and Ayodhya respectively to reiterate its Hindutva agenda and an ostensible cultural renaissance conforming to ancient beliefs.
 
The gambit paid rich dividends and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally, Apna Dal (S) cornered 64 of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats in the country’s most populous state.
 
Now with less than six months left for the crucial 2022 UP polls, a clamour of demand is rising among the