Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday compared Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan to the historic battlefield of Haldighati, calling it the “Haldighati of democracy” as he addressed the INDIA bloc rally against alleged vote theft.
Taking aim at the BJP ’s electoral prospects, Akhilesh said the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had already delivered an initial political setback for the party and claimed the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls would deepen that trend.
“In the Lok Sabha, they saw the beginning of a send-off, but in the 2027 Assembly polls, there would be such a send-off that they would not be able to return,” he said.
Invoking the 1576 Battle of Haldighati, fought between Maharana Pratap’s forces and the Mughal Empire in Rajasthan’s Aravali hills, Akhilesh used the reference to emphasise the political stakes he associated with the opposition’s mobilisation at Ramlila Maidan.
Speaking to a large gathering at the opposition event, Akhilesh said the turnout and slogans at the ground signalled public determination for political change. He described Ramlila Maidan as a place from where history has repeatedly been shaped, and said the current mobilisation suggested another turning point could be near. The slogans show that the ‘parivartan’ can come anytime,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister. Referring to the cultural significance of the venue, he said, “This is the ground of Ram ji’s leela, and we have seen in Ram leela that the sinner is always punished. He added that those who had engaged in “chanda chori” would face defeat. He said young people would not forget what he described as their treatment in Delhi and repeated that the political pushback would start from Uttar Pradesh.
“Many times, history has been written from this ground, and the people’s support is indicative that a change is in the offing. Akhilesh also attacked the NDA-led Centre over rising prices and the weakening rupee, linking economic grievances to political discontent.