During his appearance on Agenda Aaj Tak, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav addressed questions about his party’s ‘Pichre (backward), Dalit and Alpashankhak’ (minority) pitch in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh bypolls, where the BJP emerged dominant despite the SP’s strong showing in the Lok Sabha elections.

When presented with caste data from the bypolls, Yadav was shown that his party fielded three candidates from backward castes, two Dalits, and four minority candidates. In contrast, the BJP fielded five candidates from backward castes, one Dalit, and three upper-caste candidates.

Asked whether the BJP had countered the SP’s PDA strategy, Yadav dismissed the comparison, calling the data incomplete. He argued that it failed to account for what he termed undue police influence on the electoral process.

“This data is incomplete. It would be complete if you added police data next to it,” he said.

Yadav alleged that the elections were heavily controlled by police forces operating under the state leadership. “From the booth-level officer to the district election officer, all officials were under the influence of the ruling party. This is something I’ve raised repeatedly,” he said.

He further accused the police of meddling in the polls, claiming that in some areas, votes were cast exclusively by policemen, undermining the democratic process. Despite the SP’s PDA pitch, the BJP won six seats in the bypolls, while the SP secured only two.

The SP chief cited a video allegedly showing a police officer brandishing a gun and preventing women from voting during the bypolls.

He said such incidents reflected how the elections were tainted, describing the process as undemocratic and unfair.
Yadav also reiterated his criticism of the BJP’s campaign tactics, accusing the ruling party of fearing the potential unity among backward castes, Dalits, and minorities under the PDA banner.

“The BJP is afraid of PDA politics, which is why they rely on slogans like ‘Batenge toh kitenge’ and indulge in communal politics,” he said, referring to the BJP’s alleged attempts to divide voters along caste and community lines.

AKHILESH YADAV ON UP ASSEMBLY POLLS IN 2027

SP sprung a surprise and managed to punch above its weight in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. In UP, the INDIA bloc won 43 seats, as opposed to NDA’s 36.

The BJP was presented with a harrowing setback in the state, and Akhilesh Yadav’s party was credited with throwing the knockout punch after winning an astounding 37 seats in the state.

Asked if his party could replicate a similar form in the 2027 UP Assembly polls, the former Chief Minister said that his party would get an even better mandate.

“The BJP hasn’t been able to solve the issues due to which it lost. The party doesn’t want to address the issues faced by farmers…how will you grow as a nation if you don’t help farmers? If you don’t generate employment opportunities? Today’s young generation is just dreaming of landing a respectable job. BJP hasn’t addressed the issue of inflation either,” he said.

He confirmed that the SP would fight the UP assembly elections along with the Congress.

‘WE’LL SUPPORT WHOEVER DEFEATS BJP’

Amid INDIA bloc leaders throwing their weight behind West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lead the alliance, Akhilesh Yadav was asked if his party was getting enough credit for stopping the BJP from forming a majority on its own.

He said his party would support whoever manages to defeat the saffron party, adding that there’s no fight over leadership in the alliance. Akhilesh further said that the only way to defeat the BJP is by being involved in ground work.

“If you want to fight the BJP, you will be able to do it only by staying on the ground. Other parties will have to work at least better than the way BJP works on the ground. Only then will you be successful. The SP fought in UP by raising the slogan of PDA, the result of which was that the BJP lost,” he said.

AKHILESH YADAV BATS FOR ELECTIONS THROUGH BALLOT PAPERS

The former UP Chief Minister said that he’s always voiced his opinion against the use of EVMs in elections. He said elections should be held through ballot papers.

I have always said I will remove EVMs only after defeating the people with EVMs. I also said in Lok Sabha that even if I win all 80 Lok Sabha seats of UP with EVM, I will still remove EVMs. Many countries of the world, which are developed, do not use EVMs,” he said.

The Opposititon had accused the NDA of EVM tampering after the Haryana and the Maharashtra Assembly elections.