After days of tensions, Akhilesh Yadav reverts to 'PDA' slogan, omitting mention of INDIA Bloc
New Delhi, October 22: Following three days of pointed remarks directed at the Congress, which have cast doubt on his party's alliance with the INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on social media, raising eyebrows by returning to his 'PDA' term and omitting any reference to the opposition alliance.
The relationship between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress has been strained since the Congress allegedly failed to reserve any seats for its INDIA ally in Madhya Pradesh, despite assuring the SP that it would consider its candidates for six constituencies. A frustrated Akhilesh Yadav has been criticising the Congress since then, and the two parties have ended up fielding candidates against each other in 18 constituencies in the state, which is set to vote in the Assembly elections on November 17.
होगा 24 का चुनाव
PDA का इंक़लाब pic.twitter.com/K7RUPKPxl6 — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 22, 2023
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, Mr. Yadav shared a photo of an SP worker with his back painted in the party's signature red-and-green colors and a message in Hindi. The message reads, "Mission 2024. May Netaji (late Mulayam Singh Yadav) remain immortal. 'PDA' will ensure Akhilesh Yadav wins the election this time. Akhilesh Yadav will ensure the poor get justice."
'PDA' stands for Pichde (backwards), Dalits, and Alpasankhyaks (Minorities), and Mr. Yadav has been asserting that PDA will defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
In his message with the post, Mr. Yadav wrote in Hindi, "The 2024 elections will be PDA's revolution."
After the Congress announced a list for Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Yadav had accused the party of "fooling" other parties on Thursday, even suggesting that the Samajwadi Party may not have been so open to the INDIA bloc had it known that the alliance did not work at the state level.
"They assured us that they would consider us for six seats. When they announced the candidates, there was nothing for SP. If I knew there was no alliance at the state level, we wouldn't have met. We wouldn't have spoken to Congress," he stated.
When asked about these comments, Congress Madhya Pradesh President Kamal Nath responded with, "Arre bhai chhodo Akhilesh Vakhilesh... (leave this Akhilesh Vakhilesh)." The Congress state unit emphasized that the INDIA bloc existed at the central level, with its focus on the Lok Sabha polls.
An obviously upset SP chief continued to criticize the Congress on Friday, asking, "If the Congress behaves like this, who will stand with them?"
On Saturday, Mr. Yadav urged the Congress not to "betray" the Samajwadi party and demanded that it clarify whether it desired an alliance or not.
"I received a message from someone through the senior-most leader of the Congress party. If he is saying something, I will have to follow. He gave some message," Akhilesh Yadav stated, without revealing any names or providing further explanations. "But one thing I want to say is: why did they call us if they did not want an alliance?"
"Do not conspire against us, don't betray us. They should tell us straight that they don't need Samajwadis. I promise you that we will not discuss the alliance even once and will begin preparing to defeat the BJP on our own," he stated.
Mr. Yadav also took a jab at the Congress regarding its support for a caste census, saying it was a surprise that the party now wanted it.
"It is the same Congress party that previously did not disclose the caste census figures. Now everyone knows that you cannot succeed without the support of backward castes and tribes," he said. "It's a wonder that the Congress party now wants a caste census. The Congress party is now aware that the vote they were looking for is no longer with them."
- With inputs from agencies
