At the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on March 28, all eyes were on Yogi Adityanath and Akhilesh Yadav as they arrived to take oath as MLAs.
After months of attacking each other at poll rallies, the victorious Chief Minister and the defeated Leader of Opposition shared a cordial greeting. When they came face-to-face in the House, Yogi and Akhilesh smiled and shook hands, before the CM walked towards the treasury benches.
Both the BJP and Samajwadi Party leaders are first-time members of the UP Assembly. While Yogi was a member of the Legislative Council in his first term as CM, Akhilesh was Member of Parliament.
During the recent UP elections, both the leaders had pulled no punches while attacking each other. Personal jibes included Akhilesh calling Yogi 'bulldozer baba', and Yogi calling Akhilesh 'babua', and his father Mulayam 'abba jaan'.
The BJP defeated the Samajwadi Party in convincing fashion, winning 255 seats in the 403-member Assembly. The SP won in 111 constituencies.