Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday revived his controversial “80 versus 20” pitch ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, citing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielding eight candidates against the Samajwadi Party’s two for 10 Rajya Sabha seats as proof that 80% of the electorate backs the ruling alliance, leaving only 20% for the Opposition.
“The Rajya Sabha elections have foreshadowed the outcome of the upcoming assembly elections,” the chief minister said, dismissing the SP’s core demographic framework of the PDA (Pichhda or Backward Classes, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak or Minorities) as a minority force.
“The battle has once again shaped up as an ‘80 vs. 20’ contest, with 80% belonging to the National Democratic Alliance and 20% to the PDA. The fate of the PDA will become clear,” Adityanath said at an event to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public service and as the head of government.
Yogi Adityanath and the ruling BJP had made the ‘80 versus 20’ pitch a key part of their campaign during the 2022 assembly elections, which is seen as a subtle reference to the estimated Muslim population in the state.
According to the 2011 census, Muslims accounted for 19.26% of the UP’s population. In 2022, the BJP would insist that 80% of the state’s population backed progress, while 20% opposed it and took a negative approach.
{{/usCountry}}According to the 2011 census, Muslims accounted for 19.26% of the UP’s population. In 2022, the BJP would insist that 80% of the state’s population backed progress, while 20% opposed it and took a negative approach.
{{/usCountry}}SP president Akhilesh Yadav responded to the chief minister’s remarks, arguing that it admitted atrocities against the PDA would not stop during his regime.
“Truth is that the balance has been disturbed due to the defeat in the 2024 elections, that is why such unbalanced statements are coming. Threatening the PDA in a 5-second confession will not leave the BJP in a position to raise their heads and look into the eyes for not only 5 decades or 5 centuries but their 5 births,” Yadav wrote on X.
“When the honourable person sees ‘PDA-only-PDA’ all the time, whether he is awake or asleep, then our advice is that why doesn’t he get ‘PDA’ written on 108 beads, make a rosary of it and chant ‘PDA’, as this will at least reduce some of his sins. The BJP is bankrupt at the level of achievement,” he added.
Yogi Adityanath did not expand on the 80-20 reference at the event on Wednesday and lauded Prime Minister Modi for presenting India to the world as a strong and capable nation.
“By instilling confidence in every citizen, he has succeeded in building a ‘New India’—an ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ (One India, Great India, he said.
“It is a proud day for every Indian as Narendra Modi completes 25 years of tireless public service. Rising from a small village in Gujarat, he is providing leadership to India. An ordinary party worker has secured a new identity for the country on the global stage,” the chief minister said.
“When Modi ji took the oath as (Gujarat) chief minister, the then Prime Minister was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the MP from Lucknow. Today, Prime Minister Modi leads the nation as the MP from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh,” Adityanath said.
Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, BJP MLAs Pankaj Singh, Neeraj Bora, Yogesh Shukla, Jai Devi, Rajeshwar Singh and OP Srivastava were among those present on the occasion. During the event, the prime minister virtually administered the collective pledge of ‘Viksit Bharat-2047’ (Developed India 2047) to the nation.