Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday gave a new definition for Samajwadi Party's coinage 'PDA', terming it as "Production house of Dangai (rioters) and Apradhi (Criminals)." He also said that the "CEO" of this production house is Akhilesh Yadav and its "trainer" Shivpal Yadav, with all criminals "business partners" in the party.
'PDA' was an acronym coined during the 2022 assembly polls by SP Chief Akhliesh Yadav for the 'Pichhde' (backwards), Dalits and 'Alpsankhyak' (minorities). Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in response, sought accountability from the government on supply of fertilisers to the farmers.
Addressing an election rally in Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar) for the November 20 bypolls, Adityanath said, "SP talks of PDA...But tell you what their PDA is. It is the Production House of Dangai (rioters) and Apradhi (criminals)." "I am giving you this new definition...Remember any big criminal, mafia or rioters...They are party of the production house of SP. Every dreaded criminal, every dreaded mafia, every dreaded rapist is born here. Its CEO is Akhilesh Yadav. The trainer is Shivpal Yadav," he said.
He alleged that the very sight of an SP worker is enough to strike fear in the women of the state. "Dekh Sapai, Bitiya ghabrai," he said. Adityanath also alleged the SP tried to save the man accused in the Ayodhya rape case. He said mafia Atiq Ahmad and Khan Mubarak were also party of this "production house" which was sent out of business by the "double-engine" government.
Parrying the attack, Yadav said in a post on X said, "The farmer is saying, please tell me the full form of DAP as well. This might remind us that there are queues of farmers in the state for fertilisers. PDA of today says that BJP is not needed." DPA is Diammonium phosphate, a water-soluble ammonium phosphate salt that is used as a fertiliser.
Later, addressing an election rally in Kotwa in the Phulpur assembly constituency in Prayagraj district, Adityanath carried on his attack on the SP, accusing it of giving patronage to the mafia. "Whether it was Atiq Ahmed of Prayagraj, Mukhtar Ansari of Ghazipur, Khan Mubarak of Ambedkar Nagar... all of them were the products of the Samajwadi Party's production house. All of them were business partners of the Samajwadi Party in crime," he said.
The BJP leader said that after Independence, the socialist movement was started with values and ideals and people like Jayaprakash Narayan, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Acharya Narendra Dev, Chandrashekhar, Janeshwar Mishra, and Mohan Singh were associated with the movement. But today, the SP has deteriorated into a gathering of criminals and mafia, he added.
"This is what happened in Ayodhya, this is what happened in Kannauj. This is what happened in Lucknow and this is what these people did in Hardoi," he said. Adityanath also alleged that the murder of MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2006 was committed at the behest of the SP, and So was Raju Pal's in Prayagraj.
The leader, who was canvassing for candidates for the November 20 bypolls, said, "This election is not just today's election, it is an election to improve the present and also to build the future." Deepak Patel is the BJP candidate from the Phulpur Assembly seat. "BJP is not only guaranteeing development, security and legacy, but BJP also guarantees to solve the problem of floods here," the two-time CM said.
Adityanath alleged that while the BJP celebrated National Unity Day on October 31 in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the SP and its leaders commemorated the birth anniversary of Jinnah, "the architect of India's partition." He said Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were exploited under the rule of SP, which in 2015 suspended their scholarships. The policy was reversed by the BJP later, he added.
Adityanath said the BJP built a grand memorial for Suheldev in Bahraich, but the SP did not pay its respects to him fearing loss of Muslim votes. He claimed the Vindhya region, once notorious for mining and land mafia activities, was transformed into a hub of development under his dispensation. "Today, Mirzapur boasts a medical college, Maa Vindhyavasini University, and the grand Maa Vindhyavasini Corridor," he said.
He said Prime Minister Modi, alongside French counterpart, inaugurated the world's largest solar plant in the region during the International Solar Alliance event. "Despite having chief ministers several times, the SP failed to bring any real change to Mirzapur — be it in terms of university development, medical facilities, or infrastructure like the Maa Vindhyavasini Dham corridor. The SP's focus is on family development, while the BJP's priority is the state's progress," Adityanath claimed.
The CM also said the BJP-led Union government will not accept the reinstating of Article 370, a resolution for which was passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly recently. "India will have one leader, one Constitution, and one flag," he asserted.
In UP, nine assembly seats going to bypolls Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur City), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad).
Eight of these seats fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as Lok Sabha MPs, while bypoll is being held on the Sisamau seat due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case. In the 2022 assembly polls, Sishamau, Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur and Kundarki were held by the SP, while the BJP had won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair.
The Meerapur seat was held by the RLD, which is now an ally of the BJP in the NDA. The Congress is not contesting the bypolls and supporting its INDIA bloc partner SP, while the BSP is contesting solo on all nine seats.
