Akhilesh Yadav projects PDA for Mission 2024 in an apparent snub to INDIA bloc ally Congress
In a jolt to the Opposition unity, the Samajwadi Party chief has hinted that his party will have nothing to do with the INDIA bloc
After targeting the Congress over not forging alliance with them in Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav’s latest social media post projecting his ‘PDA’ plank and leaving out any mention of INDIA alliance has raised many an eyebrow.
The PDA, a phrase coined by the SP leader sometime back, stands for backwards, Dalits and minorities. In a Twitter post on Sunday, Yadav shared a photo of an SP worker with his back coloured in the party's signature red-and-green and a message written on it 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.”
Posting the graffiti on his handle, the former chief minister wrote a slogan in Hindi, “Hoga 24 ka chunav, PDA ka inqilab.” Roughly translated, he said that the pichhade, the Dalits, alpsankhyak (Backwards, Dalits and minorities) will bring the change in the 2024 general elections.
The SP leader’s post follows his continued jibes at the Congress for the past three days bringing into question his party’s relationship with the Opposition alliance, according to media reports. Interestingly, his post does not mention INDIA bloc.
As per media reports, ties between the SP and the Congress began their downhill incline after the Congress allegedly refused to accommodate SP demand for considering its candidates for six constituencies in Madhya Pradesh. Instead of fighting the assembly elections as INDIA bloc partners in the state, both parties ended up fielding candidates in 18 constituencies against each other.
Yadav on Thursday (October 19) accused the Congress of “fooling” other political outfits and went on to say that had he had an idea that the Opposition alliance wouldn’t work at the state level he would not have joined the INDIA bloc. “They assured us that they will think about us for six seats. When they announced candidates there was nothing for SP. If I knew there was no alliance on state level, then we wouldn't have met. We wouldn't have spoken to Congress,” Yadav was quoted as saying in the report.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath allegedly rejected the idea of seat-sharing with the SP in the state.
The SP leader sought clarification from the Congress and exhorted the party leadership to not betray him. “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 talk about alliance even once and will begin preparation to defeat the BJP on our own,” he was quoted as saying.
The battle lines between the two Opposition parties for 2024 have apparently been drawn.