Akhilesh’s PDA Rath Yatra turns UP poll battle into symbolic contest

The Samajwadi Party’s outreach to backward classes, Dalits and minorities faces competing caste narratives and alliance negotiations.

The momentum of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election is being built slowly. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is moving different part of Uttar Pradesh and disseminating the message of developmental initiatives which Uttar Pradesh government is taking to make the life better of the public in the state. On the other hand, Akhilesh Yadav, leader of the Opposition in the state assembly and Chief Ministerial face of the Samajwadi Party, launched his PDA Rath Yatra recently from Bachhrawan, Rai Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

The PDA yatra led by Akhilesh Yadav aims to mobilise Peechada (backwards), Dalit and alpsankhyak (minority) electorally in favour of the Samajwadi Party in the upcoming election. He has given the name of his PDA chariot as the Lord Krishna Chariot of Mahabharat. As we know Lord Krishna, an avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu worked as sarathi of Arjuna chatiot and cultivated victory of Pandavas in the Battle of Mahabharat.

The symbol of Krishna carries two meanings together- one as god, accepted by all Hindus of all over the globe; on the other hand, since he was born in the Yadava clan, the Yadava community claims him as their kula purush and god. So Krishna, sometimes, is being interpreted also as an icon which has a root association with Yadava communities in contemporary socio- political discourse. This symbol may help the Samajwadi Party to impress all the communities of Indian society, but sometimes it may fail to impress other Pichhada communities because of the Samajwadi Party and its base vote Yadava overclaim on Krishana image.

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On the other hand, Yogi Adityanath and the Bharatiya Janata Party are trying to mobilise all Hindu communities in their favour by reinterpreting the Hindu and Sanatani meaning of the image of Krishna. So the Krishna chariot of Mahabharata may acquire contesting and sometimes overlapping meanings in the contemporary political electoral time of the UP assembly election.