Akhilesh Yadav's 'PDA Ka Inquilab' Signals New Twist In Rift With INDIA Ally Congress

The alliance between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and their ally in the INDIA bloc, the Congress, witnessed another twist on Sunday, 22nd October as SP president Akhilesh Yadav made a significant move by reverting to using the 'PDA' term.

After days of taking subtle jabs at the grand old party, Yadav shared a photo on X (formerly Twitter) depicting an SP worker with their back painted in the party's signature red and green colors, along with a message in Hindi.

"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," read the message on the back of the SP worker.

Yadav posted the photo with the caption, "The 2024 polls will be [the] PDA's revolution."

The term 'PDA' translates to 'Pichada (backwards), Dalits, and Alpasankhyaks (minorities)'. Yadav has stressed that his party's strategy is focused on these sections of society, and the PDA aims to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

This isn't the first time Yadav mentioned 'PDA'; he also referred to it on Saturday, 21st October, during a public awareness campaign in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister emphasized that the PDA was formed first, and the INDIA alliance followed. While the grand Opposition alliance remains, the SP's primary focus is on the PDA, according to news agency ANI.

TENSIONS IN SP-CONGRESS RELATIONS:

The relationship between the SP and the Congress has been strained in recent times, with Yadav expressing dissatisfaction over the failure to establish a seat-sharing strategy for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. The SP had hoped to form an alliance to challenge the BJP government in the state. However, no such alliance materialized, and Yadav has deemed it a "betrayal," publicly criticizing his INDIA ally.

On Saturday, the SP chief urged the Congress to be straightforward and declare whether they no longer require the support of Samajwadis. "I promise you that we will not talk about an alliance even once and will prepare to defeat the BJP on our own," he stated, while urging the Congress to avoid conspiracies and betrayals.

Yadav also responded to former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath's 'Akhilesh Vakhilesh' remark, sarcastically pointing out that the latter's name contains 'Kamal' (lotus), which is the official symbol of the BJP.

The ongoing tension between the SP and Congress raises doubts about the future of the INDIA bloc, just months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the SP unveiled its third list of two candidates on Thursday, 19th October, bringing the total to 33 names announced for the 17th November polls in the 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress, on the other hand, has announced its candidates for 229 seats.