File photo of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Akhilesh Yadav asks PDA community to safeguard votes in electoral rolls, slams BJP
The Samajwadi Party chief warns of a conspiracy to delete voters from electoral rolls and urges 'Praharis' to verify booth lists ahead of 2027 UP elections
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday (January 8) appealed to the PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpshankhyak) community to safeguard their votes in the electoral rolls and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manipulating elections.
He urged the ‘PDA Prahari’ (PDA sentinels) to remain vigilant and ensure that no conspiracy to delete the votes of the community succeeds.
Also read: UP political battle intensifies over 4 crore 'missing' voters
Akhilesh coined the acronym PDA in June 2023, and his electoral strategy centred around it earned his party rich dividends in the Lok Sabha elections the following year.
In a Hindi post on X, he said that despite the efforts of 'PDA Praharis', crores of votes of the PDA community had already been deleted.
He called upon party workers to carry out intensive verification at every booth with the resolve that “not a single vote should be deleted, not a single vote should be reduced”.
प्रिय मतदाता और पीडीए प्रहरी,
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 8, 2026
हर मतदाता और हर एक ‘पीडीए प्रहरी’ से एक बार फिर ये अपील है कि पीडीए समाज के वोटों को काटने की किसी भी साज़िश को कामयाब न होने दें। ‘पीडीए प्रहरी’ के प्रयासों के बावजूद भी अभी भी पीडीए समाज के करोड़ों वोट काटे गये हैं। अब पीडीए प्रहरी को हर बूथ पर… pic.twitter.com/rEV0Q9dK1q
The SP, which aims to return to power in Uttar Pradesh in the 2027 state elections, has appointed ‘PDA Praharis’ in all districts to ensure that the community's votes remain intact in the voters' list. Akhilesh said voters must be made aware of the importance of having their names on the electoral rolls, warning that the absence of a name could be misused in the future.
'BJP could bring draconian laws'
The former chief minister of the state said that the BJP government could bring some “draconian laws” using voter lists as a basis to deny citizens various rights and entitlements.
Akhilesh claimed that the deletion of names from voter lists could be used to question citizens’ access to ration cards, government schemes, caste certificates, reservations, bank accounts, property records, PAN cards, Ayushman cards, essential supplies, and even ownership of land and houses.
Also read: Dead voters, scanned affidavits: UP CEO questions SP’s missing votes claim
“Consider your name on the voter list as proof of your citizenship. Treat the voter ID as your citizen ID,” he said, alleging that a “land-hungry BJP government” could frame laws to snatch away people’s rights, wealth and property.
Accusing the BJP of manipulating elections, the SP supremo said that a party that could facilitate uncontested elections could go to any extent, including deletion of votes, to win polls.
He also alleged that corruption and grabbing of water, forests and land were part of the BJP’s hidden agenda.
Appeals to PDA community
Akhilesh urged members of the PDA community to treat his message as a warning. He appealed to get their votes registered, protect their citizenship and vote against the BJP to form a “PDA government”.
Also read: UP SIR draft electoral roll: 2.89 crore voters deleted, highest in India
He further said that safeguarding one’s vote also meant protecting the Constitution, reservations and jobs, cautioning that the poor, exploited and marginalised suffer the most in the end.
“Register your vote, save your future!” he said to conclude his post.
(With agency inputs)