Lucknow, Nov 11 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said he will visit Ayodhya and Vrindavan, and gave a new meaning to the party’s PDA slogan as “Pehle Darshan, Phir Ashirwad” (First Darshan, Then Blessings).
Talking to reporters in Lucknow, Yadav also asserted that the political battle in Uttar Pradesh was “no longer between 80 and 20 per cent but between 95 and five per cent”.
Asked about his plans to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the SP chief said he would also visit the Kedareshwar temple in Etawah and Vrindavan.
“Not just Ayodhya, we will also visit Kedareshwar and Vrindavan,” he said, without specifying any date.
He went on to give a new meaning to the party’s PDA slogan, describing it as “Pehle Darshan, Phir Ashirwad”.
PDA originally stood for “Pichhda” (Backwards), Dalits and “Alpsankhyak” (Minorities).
“Both Shiva and Ram are present in our family. We have both — uncle Shivpal and Ram Gopal Yadav with us. Awadhesh (Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad) and Pawan (former Ayodhya assembly candidate Pawan Pandey) are also with us. So why is the BJP so nervous?” he said.
Earlier, Pandey had said that Yadav would visit Ayodhya on December 12 to offer prayers to Ram Lalla.
The BJP has often criticised Yadav for not visiting the Ram temple in Ayodhya since its consecration in January 2024. The SP chief has maintained that he would visit the temple after the construction of the Kedareshwar temple in Etawah is completed.
Talking about the upcoming polls, the former UP chief minister said the political battle in the state was no longer between 80 and 20 per cent but between 95 and five per cent. He alleged that 95 per cent of the population comprised people who were suffering, distressed and humiliated, while the remaining five per cent were exploiters.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had popularised the “80-20” formulation ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, describing the political contest as one between 80 per cent and 20 per cent.
“The 80 per cent supporters will be on one side while 20 per cent will be on the other. I think 80 per cent will move forward with positive energy whereas 20 per cent have always opposed and will oppose further.
“The BJP will win, and again work to take forward the ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ campaign,” Adityanath had said while addressing a public meeting in January 2022.
Last month, while addressing the “Seva Jyoti Yatra-Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha” in Lucknow, Adityanath said, “The 80 versus 20 fight has returned. Eighty per cent is with the NDA and 20 per cent with the PDA, and what is going to happen to the PDA will again be before you.”
Responding to the remark, Yadav said, “The fight is no longer between 80 and 20 per cent. It is now a fight between 95 and five per cent. Ninety-five per cent of the people who are suffering, distressed and humiliated are on one side, while five per cent of exploiters are on the other.”
“When there is a fight between 95 and five per cent, BJP leaders will not even know where they have landed. That is why their language and behaviour have changed,” Yadav added.
He also took a dig at the government over alleged irregularities in voter lists and drew a parallel between reports of a drug seizure and the deletion of voters’ names.
“Newspapers reported that cannabis worth Rs 1.27 crore was seized. On the other hand, there is talk of 1.27 crore votes being deleted. What a strange coincidence!” he said.
Demanding measures to ensure transparency in elections, he suggested that voters be issued metal identity cards that could not be duplicated or copied. He also called for linking voter lists with Aadhaar.
Targeting the BJP government over infrastructure development, Yadav claimed that Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra Metro projects were initiated during the SP government’s tenure.
“Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra Metros were the contribution of the Samajwadi Party government. The BJP government has not been able to extend the metro network even by 10 centimetres in 10 years,” he said.
He also alleged corruption in the tendering process, claiming that it had adversely affected the riding quality of roads and expressways and contributed to an increase in accidents. PTI CDN KSS
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