&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Elon Musk features on Lucknow's 'anti-India' Ravan poster alongside Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh")
A Dussehra poster in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow has featured Tesla CEO Elon Musk, American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and others as faces of Ravana, sparking a major controversy. The posters, titled "Bharat Virodhi Dashanan Ravan", shows these international public figures and opposition leaders as alleged opponents of India's interests. They were reportedly installed at several intersections in the Uttar Pradesh capital by an organisation called the Sanatan Raksha Sangathan.
The artwork draws on Ravana, the ten-headed figure from the Ramayana whose effigies are burnt during Dussehra celebrations. Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad is depicted as Ravana, while other faces include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Mukhtar Ansari, US billionaire Elon Musk, American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, investor George Soros and lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
The inclusion of Musk comes days after he raised voice against the Indian government over Starlink's commercial approval in India. He accused unnamed "oligarchs" of blocking the service's launch to maintain a monopolistic chokehold on the market. In a series of posts on X, Musk went as far as mockingly referring to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as the "real boss of India" and sarcastically addressing him as "Prime Minister Ambani".
Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad accused the BJP of being unsettled by Akhilesh Yadav's growing popularity ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. A video also showed a Samajwadi Party worker taking down one of the posters erected in a public place in Lucknow. Prasad also claimed that the BJP was concerned about the Samajwadi Party chief's growing public support and credibility. “The 2027 elections are approaching and the BJP is worried about the growing popularity and credibility of Akhilesh Yadav. As the elections draw closer, their anxiety is increasing. That is why such things are being done through posters, false statements and misleading claims. However, all these efforts will fail,” Prasad said.
