Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the Election Commission of facilitating the "vote theft" of the PDA (backwards, dalits and minorities) bloc in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, and said his party will contest the 2027 polls in alliance.
Addressing a public meeting in Raebareli, a Congress bastion with Rahul Gandhi as its sitting MP, after reaching the city on party's 'PDA Rath', Yadav alleged that the EC had lost the confidence of people and claimed that had the alleged "vote theft" not taken place in 2022, the Samajwadi Party would have formed the government in Uttar Pradesh.
‘पीडीए रथ' की पहली यात्रा में रायबरेली में बात इतने बड़े हार से स्वागत की नहीं है कि उसे क्रेन से उठाया जाए, बात अपनों से मिल रहे बेइंतहा प्यार-मोहब्बत की है।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 24, 2026
रायबरेली की जनता और सभी कार्यकर्ताओं, पदाधिकारियों और नेताओं का हार्दिक धन्यवाद!
रायबरेली ने सुनिश्चित कर दिया है कि… pic.twitter.com/ISs2Mqh74G
The acronym PDA was coined by Akhilesh in June 2023, and it stands for 'Pichhde' (backward classes), Dalits and 'Alpsankhyak' (minorities).
"The Election Commission has been exposed and has worked like a puppet. Such a low level of work may never have happened in a democracy. Now, there is no trust in the Election Commission," Yadav said.
He alleged that the BJP was using the election machinery because it knew that people would not vote for it on issues such as inflation.
Yadav said those pursuing the "bulldozer politics" would not be able to escape the PDA movement, asserting that this time (in 2027) the electoral verdict would not merely defeat them but would "demolish" and permanently eliminate such negative politics.
On a tie-up for polls, Yadav said, "We will have an alliance" and added that the basis for deciding seats will be winnability.
"Whoever can win a seat should get that seat," Yadav asserted.
Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he said, "We defeated them in 2024 and in 2027 we will work for their (BJP) permanent defeat."
Yadav also invoked the party's PDA Rath, saying the chariot symbolised the battlefield of Kurukshetra and referred to the Mahabharata and Lord Krishna's teachings in the Bhagavad Gita.
The SP chief also criticised the BJP over alleged demolition of religious structures in Kashi and Saharanpur, accusing it of pursuing communal politics and attempting to weaken social harmony.
He also touched upon the proposed Uniform Civil Code in his address and said it should be preceded by efforts to ensure equality among citizens.
"We say first make the citizens equal; first, let all of us become one. When everyone's respect becomes equal, then bring laws to increase that respect and take people forward," he said.
On employment, he promised that an SP government would work to provide jobs to young people and increase government recruitment. "If outsourcing has to be ended, we will end outsourcing," he said.
He also promised free treatment in hospitals, saying people would not have to search for a card before receiving healthcare.
Yadav also accused the state government of shutting primary schools while opening liquor shops and said schools that had been closed would be reopened under an SP government.
He also promised restoration of the old pension scheme for government employees.
Akhilesh Yadav's 'PDA Rath' Yatra
The specially designed "PDA Rath" was rolled out for the first time ahead of 2027 polls, making it the highlight of Yadav's Raebareli visit. The motorised multi-coloured chariot is replete with political symbolism.
It carries slogans -- "Samajwadi PDA Yatra" and "PDA hi parivartan layega" (PDA will bring change), and includes the definition of PDA as "Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak"-- the social coalition that has become a central plank of the SP's strategy.
रायबरेली की जनता और सभी कार्यकर्ताओं, पदाधिकारियों और नेताओं का हार्दिक धन्यवाद!
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 24, 2026
जो पीड़ित, वो पीडीए! pic.twitter.com/RT0xXzG3Nx
Portraits of several prominent personalities, including many Dalit leaders that SP appears to have co-opted from BSP, are also on the vehicle.
The slogan, "Jo peedit, wo PDA" (all oppressed are PDAs), is written in blue, a colour traditionally associated with the Bahujan and Ambedkarite political movement and the BSP.
The choice of Raebareli gives the visit an additional political significance as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is the sitting MP. He won his seat by defeating BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh, a former Congressman, who is now quite vocal in targeting Gandhi.
Raebareli's local political landscape also includes BJP leaders with previous links to the Congress and SP.
BJP leader and minister Manoj Kumar Pandey was earlier with the SP, while state minister Dinesh Pratap Singh was the BJP's candidate against Rahul Gandhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Raebareli Sadar MLA Aditi Singh, who was earlier with the Congress, is also now with the BJP.
BJP Reacts
The BJP wasted little time in taking potshots at Yadav, claiming it is the SP's attempt to demonstrate the party's strength in a Congress stronghold.
BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi claimed Yadav deliberately chose Raebareli for his visit, describing the move as part of "the ongoing tussle" within the SP-Congress alliance.
Referring to recent statements by Congress leader Imran Masood and SP's Iqra Hasan, he said that Yadav's choice was intended to show that the SP could demonstrate its political strength in the constituency and question the Congress's standing there.
He suggested that Congress should also launch its poll campaign from Mainpuri and Etawah.
Tripathi also said SP workers travelling from Lucknow to Raebareli would see the "wide and good roads" and the development work carried out by the Yogi Adityanath government.
Meanwhile, BJP ally SBSP chief and UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said that Yadav's PDA campaign in Raebareli was to signal "goons" to create unrest.
The SP and Congress's impressive showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls came on the back of a tie-up between the two and all eyes would be on whether they can settle on a seat-sharing agreement for the assembly polls early next year.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the SP-Congress alliance put up a strong show -- SP won 37 Lok Sabha seats in UP and Congress 6. The alliance won a hugely impressive 43 seats, limiting the BJP to 33 seats in the most populous state in the country.
This included the SP win from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, of which Ayodhya is a part.
Despite BJP's win in a series of bypolls held since, including the Milkipur assembly seat that is part of the Faizabad Lok Sabha, the poll narrative has mostly focused on whether the two parties can reach a seat-sharing agreement for the crucial UP polls.
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