BJP’s slogan has divided allies, alienated the public, says Akhilesh Yadav at HTLS
Akhilesh Yadav said his party will win the 2027 assembly polls, attacked CM over paper leaks, and hinted at internal dissension within the ruling dispensation
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gripped by a negative mindset that was responsible for its underwhelming performance in this summer’s Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh at the hands of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its positive slogan of PDA (pichda-dalit-alpsankhyak or backward-Dalit-minorities), former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday, exuding confidence that the Opposition will triumph in the ongoing assembly elections and bypolls .
He was speaking at the 22nd Hindustan Times leadership summit in Delhi, where he also alleged that the BJP government was not working for the people in UP, declared his party will win the 2027 assembly polls, attacked chief minister Yogi Adityanath over frequent paper leaks, and hinted at internal dissension within the ruling dispensation.
He used the example of a recent slogan coined by Adityanath “batenge toh kitenge (if we’re divided, we’ll be cut down)” to allege that the BJP was gripped by negativity. He also likened the slogan to the British policy of divide-and-rule.
“In the history of democracy across the world, you will not find a more negative slogan. This has divided allies and alienated the public. And this is why they’re losing in UP,” Yadav said in conversation with NDTV’s consultant editor Sumit Awasthi. “I have started cleaning the pollution in politics, and I have started from UP… employment and jobs are not on the BJP’s agenda.”
He was referring to the BJP’s setbacks in this summer’s Lok Sabha polls, when its tally in UP dropped from 62 to 33 and it finished second to the SP, which won 37 seats, its best-ever performance. The BJP lost marquee contests in Amethi and Faizabad (where Ayodhya, the home of the Ram Temple, is situated).
“In contrast, PDA is a positive slogan, one that has been built by the ideology of BR Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. They’re scared of PDA now,” he said. “We are using PDA to clean this pollution.”
Yadav, 51, who heads the SP and was the chief minister of UP between 2012 and 2017, hinted at internal dissension within the BJP. “Earlier, they would boast about a double-engine government. Now, not only are the two engines clashing but also their slogans are also clashing… the slogans of Lucknow walas and Delhi walas are different,” he said, referring to a second slogan given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — “ek rahenge toh safe rahenge (if we stay united, we’ll be safe)”.
“Their slogans have caused a divide within the party; allies are also expressing their opposition,” he said, a possible reference to leaders such as Ajit Pawar, Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde in Maharashtra who have expressed their reservations about the slogan in the run-up to the assembly elections on November 20.
He said the SP was trying to use the PDA slogan to bring society together, while the BJP was trying to widen social rifts. He refused speculation that the Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh did not campaign in full force during the Lok Sabha elections.
“They fought the elections with as much strength as possible. Still, the people of UP didn’t choose them. And the reason is that they were playing with the Constitution, with people’s rights, with reservations. And this fight is far from over,” he said.
The attrition of some votes from the BJP, especially among the Dalit communities, in the Lok Sabha elections was attributed to widespread fears among the marginalised castes that the Constitution could be changed and reservation benefits erased.
“Until the BJP government is removed from Delhi and Lucknow, our fight for the Constitution will be continue.”
He said that the BJP was on course to losing nine crucial bypolls in UP, alleging that the elections were postponed because the ruling party was worried about its performance.
Yadav said that the people of UP had decided to vote against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, attributing this mindset to the Opposition’s victories in Amethi, Faizabad and reducing Modi’s victory margin in Varanasi.
“Many in the BJP were saying how could we lose Ayodhya after doing so much work. I said you lost Ayodhya after building a ₹1,000 crore temple. I lost after building a ₹15,000 crore expressway. So the question is what the public wants,” he said.
Yadav alleged that the government had not worked on UP highways, augmented health care, given adequate minimum support prices, built schools and institutions, or doubled farm incomes.
“Can anyone imagine that every paper leaks? More than 20 million students are suffering,” he said.
He referred to protests in Prayagraj over the state public service examinations. “They are talking about one nation one election, but cannot conduct an exam properly on the same day?” he asked, referring to the central government’s push for simultaneous polls.
He also rejected allegations that the SP was unhappy with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and that is why it was fighting the Maharashtra elections on its own. “We are only fighting the seats where we have sitting lawmakers and where we have a strong organisation. The SP is working to ensure that the MVA [Maha Vikas Aghadi] wins the assembly polls comfortably,” he said.
“We are sure the INDIA bloc will win with good numbers.”
In Maharashtra, the BJP leads the Mahayuti alliance, with the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and is hoping to retain power in a high-stakes contest on November 20.
The MVA, which comprises the Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharadchandraji Pawar), is aiming to replicate its performance in the Lok Sabha elections, when it won 30 of the state’s 48 seats.
He dismissed speculation of any rift between the SP and the Congress over the former contesting all nine bypoll seats. “There are no differences between Congress and SP workers. We are working together.”
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