Lucknow : Launching Samajwadi Party’s PDA Yatra campaign for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections from Cong bastion Rae Bareli, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday likened the upcoming electoral battle to the Mahabharat, describing the party’s campaign chariot as a symbol of Kurukshetra.
Addressing a large gathering that waited through hours of rain and drizzle before his arrival on PDA Yatra Rath, Akhilesh said, “Rath humare desh ki sanskriti mein Kurukshetra ka prateek hai aur Mahabharat ka bhi…” (In our culture, the chariot symbolises Kurukshetra and the Mahabharat).He said the rath also represented Lord Krishna’s guidance, dharma and the wisdom of Bhagavad Gita delivered on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.The remarks come amid opposition jibes that PDA Yatra Rath carries more saffron than Samajwadi Party’s traditional red-and-green colours.
In a speech laced with attacks on BJP, Akhilesh invoked issues that have resonated strongly with Hindu voters in recent months. Referring to the alleged donation embezzlement case at Ram Temple in Ayodhya and demolitions carried out around Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi, he accused BJP of misusing religion for political gains.“They are fake Hindus who used bulldozers to demolish countless temples in Kashi, the world’s oldest civilisation,” he said.Returning to the PDA plank, originally coined to represent Pichhde, Dalit and Alpsankhyak (backwards, Dalits and minorities), Akhilesh said the coalition had now expanded into a broader movement to defend Constitution, reservation and democracy.
“The PDA community has realised its strength and its numbers. There is no going back now,” he said, drawing loud cheers from a crowd dominated by young supporters.The SP chief said PDA had brought together the Peedit, Dukhi aur Apmanit (oppressed, distressed and humiliated) and had emerged as a challenge to what he termed BJP’s “hegemonic mindset”.“This PDA movement will not spare those who use bulldozers,” he said in an apparent reference to the state’s bulldozer-driven law-and-order campaign.Akhilesh also accused BJP of deploying the administrative machinery whenever it found itself politically cornered by PDA and the youth.“We defeated the BJP in 2024.
In 2027, we will wipe them out,” he said.The SP president thanked Rae Bareli party workers for organising the event after district authorities earlier denied permission for a Samajwadi Chatra Sabha programme in Rae Bareli this month. Praising Harchandpur MLA Rahul Lodhi for standing firm despite the denial, Akhilesh remarked that while the larger contest in Uttar Pradesh may be between PDA and BJP, in Rae Bareli “it has become Yogi versus Lodhi.”
