‘SP changing colours like a chameleon’: Mayawati on ‘Pandit’ in PDA formula

Her remarks came after Akhilesh, while addressing a Brahmin Sammelan in Lucknow earlier this week, said the ‘P’ in PDA — Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (Backward, Dalit and Minority) — could also represent Pandit. He also accused the BJP government of targeting Brahmins.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Saturday hit out at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav over his recent remarks that the ‘P’ in the party’s PDA formula could also stand for Pandit, alleging that the SP was changing its political narrative to woo Brahmin voters.

Mayawati claimed that the SP, which had initially projected the ‘P’ in PDA as Pichhda, had changed its interpretation after noticing Brahmin and other upper-caste communities increasingly moving towards the BSP. (File)

In a post on X, Mayawati accused the SP of changing its political stance according to electoral requirements and said the party was “changing colours like a chameleon” as it pursued what she termed narrow caste-based politics.

Her remarks came after Akhilesh, while addressing a Brahmin Sammelan in Lucknow earlier this week, said the ‘P’ in PDA — Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (Backward, Dalit and Minority) — could also represent Pandit. He also accused the BJP government of targeting Brahmins.

Mayawati claimed that the SP, which had initially projected the ‘P’ in PDA as Pichhda, had changed its interpretation after noticing Brahmin and other upper-caste communities increasingly moving towards the BSP.

“After first promoting the ‘P’ in their so-called PDA as ‘Pichhda’, the SP, after seeing the upper-caste society, particularly the Brahmin community, rapidly joining the BSP and the party fielding candidates on that basis, has now changed ‘P’ to ‘Pandit’,” she said.

Describing the move as another example of the SP’s “political deception and trickery”, Mayawati said the BSP, in contrast, was an Ambedkarite party committed to the welfare of all sections of society. She pointed to the BSP governments in Uttar Pradesh, saying they had been run on the principle of “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay”.

Mayawati said such political tactics could provide temporary electoral benefits but could not ensure the welfare of society as a whole.

“Such politics of deception and trickery may temporarily benefit an individual for a short period, but it can never lead to the welfare of the entire society,” she said.

Urging voters to remain cautious, the BSP chief said people from all sections of society should be wary of the SP’s “narrow casteist politics”, describing it as a matter of public interest.