Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav.
Credit: PTI File photo
Mainpuri, UP: Giving a unique twist to the ‘PDA’ acronym coined by Akhilesh Yadav, BJP’s candidate from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat said it stands for 'Parivar Development Authority' as he attacked the Samajwadi Party over the issue of dynasty politics.
Around 220 km from the state capital Lucknow, Mainpuri is a bastion of the SP with the party retaining the Lok Sabha seat for nearly three decades.
Singh, who is the state tourism minister and sitting MLA from Mainpuri Sadar, is taking on SP’s Dimple Yadav, the wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. He claimed that the people of Mainpuri were fed up with SP’s PDA and would vote for the BJP this time.
"I am one hundred per cent sure that the BJP will win the seat this time. SP's PDA is 'Pariwar Development Authority' of Saifai (Yadav family's ancestral village) and there is no scope for others to be a part of it," Singh told PTI.
Yadav's 'PDA formula' refers to a combination of 'Pichde (backward classes), Dalit and Alpasankhyak (minorities)'.
Earlier, it was said that the SP was a party of Yadavs but now, people have realised that it is only a ‘Kunbe ki party’ or party of a clan, Singh said.
He said every day “hundreds of people” from the SP are joining the BJP as they see no future in the party.
"They gave tickets to five of their family members in the Lok Sabha polls and ignored the backwards… people are annoyed," he said, referring to the party giving tickets to Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh, Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, Aditya Yadav from Budaun, besides Dimple and Akhilesh contesting from Mainpuri and Kannauj.
Singh said after the death of SP founder and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2022, his daughter-in-law was given the ticket from Mainpuri for the bypoll.
“Now, her daughter (Aditi Yadav) is there and Poonam Rawat (Dimple Yadav's sister) has also come. Those within the SP can see that they have no future and are demoralised. That’s why they are coming to the BJP," he said, adding the SP only promotes dynastic politics.
Dimple Yadav’s daughter can be seen canvassing for her in the constituency for the May 7 polls.
He claimed that wherever he goes, he is getting tremendous responses as people feel that they can now vote freely.
"People here have seen hooliganism between 2012 and 2017 during the SP regime. Now all that has ended and change is inevitable. The welfare schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and good governance of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will have an impact on the election," he said.
The BJP government has ensured a peaceful atmosphere in the state. The people know that they will witness development if they vote for the BJP, Singh said.
Being a local BJP MLA, Singh is also relying on the work done by him in the past two years in the constituency.
"From my department alone, Rs 172 crore was released for development projects, including Rs 15 crore for Akhilesh Yadav's Karhal assembly constituency," the minister said.
On Dimple Yadav’s statement that she would carry forward the legacy of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Singh said the people of Mainpuri voted for her in the 2022 by-election to pay tributes to ‘Netaji'.
“However, that is not the case anymore as the situation has changed and people trust the Modi-Yogi duo more," he said.
For the BJP, conquering Mainpuri will be a major accomplishment after its takeover of the two former SP strongholds -- Azamgarh and Rampur -- in the 2022 by-elections.
Following the results of the bypolls, the SP’s tally of Lok Sabha MPs reached an all-time low of just three.
Of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP bagged 62 and its ally Apna Dal got two in the 2019 general elections. The Congress managed just one seat, while the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party had forged an alliance.
Mainpuri parliamentary constituency has five assembly segments -- Mainpuri, Bhogaon, Kishni, Karhal and Jaswant Nagar.
In the 2022 assembly elections, the SP won the Karhal, Kishni and Jaswant Nagar seats, while the BJP won the Mainpuri and Bhogaon seats.
The Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat has been with the SP since 1996 when Mulayam Singh Yadav first won from here. It was followed by Balram Singh Yadav's victories in 1998 and 1999. Mulayam Singh Yadav triumphed again in 2004, 2009 and 2014. The SP founder won the seat again in 2019.
According to an estimate, Mainpuri has a majority of Yadav voters at around 3.5 lakh, besides over 1.5 lakh Thakurs, 1.2 lakh Brahmins, 60,000 Shakyas, 1.4 lakh Jatavs and over a lakh Lodhis. It also has around one lakh each of Muslim and Kurmi voters.
The BSP of Mayawati has fielded Shiv Prasad Yadav from Mainpuri. The seat will go to polls in the third phase of the ongoing general elections on May 7.