SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged the UP BJP government has a ‘discriminatory attitude’, claiming the PDA communities face the most discrimination. His remarks came as the party’s candidates filed nominations for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
SP Chief Alleges Discrimination by BJP Govt in UP
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has adopted a “discriminatory attitude” since the beginning of its tenure, claiming that the state’s PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpashankhyak) communities have faced the most discrimination. “They (BJP govt) have adopted a discriminatory attitude from the very first day. The courts have taken note of it several times… The most discrimination in the entire Uttar Pradesh has been against PDA,” Akhilesh Yadav told reporters.
His remarks came as the Samajwadi Party’s Professor Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani filed their nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh Yadav accompanied both candidates during the nomination filing as the party formally entered the contest for the biennial elections. The SP had earlier announced Ram Gopal Yadav and Nathwani as its two nominees from Uttar Pradesh.
Rajya Sabha Nominations and Political Maneuvering
Meanwhile, when asked whether the SP would field a third candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections, Ram Gopal Yadav said the decision could only be clarified by the party’s national president. “Only the National President can tell you about that,” he said.
Ram Gopal Yadav, who has been a Rajya Sabha member for several terms, also said, “I have been a candidate for a long time—it has been 34 years. And now, for another six years.”
The possibility of a third SP candidate comes amid remarks by Uttar Pradesh Minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, who questioned whether the party’s nominees would reflect its PDA formulation. In a post on X, Rajbhar asked Akhilesh Yadav whether all three candidates, if the SP fields three, would belong to the PDA category. He also cautioned the party against attempting to secure a third seat.
Election Schedule and Broader Context
The Election Commission has announced that polling for 11 Rajya Sabha seats, including 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, will be held on October 16. The terms of the sitting members from the two states are scheduled to expire on November 25.
The SP’s nomination exercise comes amid its continuing criticism of the Election Commission over electoral processes. Akhilesh Yadav has previously alleged that votes of SP supporters were deliberately deleted during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, a claim disputed by the BJP. The BJP had won 255 of the 403 seats in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and formed the government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (ANI)
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