PDA Yatra Rath
He said his visit was a reply to the administration and BJP-sponsored goons who did not allow an event of Samajwadi Party Chhatra Sabha in Rae Bareli on Sept 17. Recently, responding to a specific query at a news conference, Akhilesh had announced that he would soon visit the residence of SP MLA from Harchandpur, Rahul Lodhi, and have tea with him.
Lucknow: Samajwadi PDA Yatra rath will hit the ground running for 2027 polls from the ‘ Congress bastion’ of Rae Bareli on Sept 24 carrying party chief Akhilesh Yadav on board. The announcement has led to a feeling of déjà vu for many who recall that it was Amethi and Rae Bareli from where SP had started its spadework for 2024 Lok Sabha polls as early as March 2023. “We won four of the five seats in 2022 Assembly polls and presently retain three of them.
The Unchahar SP MLA has sided with the BJP which had won the Rae Bareli Sadar seat.
So, there is nothing to be surprised about,” said a senior SP member. That SP was very much into alliance was reiterated by SP chief on Monday when he said: “We are moving ahead with the same alliance which we had before (in 2024 polls),” necessarily meaning Congress. Though top functionaries in UP Congress refused to comment on the move, a senior office bearer said there was not much need to see into the SP PDA Yatra in Rae Bareli. “It is election time and party heads will visit places,” he said.
The fact that SP PDA Yatra will start from Rae Bareli – the constituency of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi – has generated a lot of curiosity in the political circles over how the ride will shape up. Akhilesh had then appointed senior party functionaries Indrajeet Saroj and Anand Bhadauria as in-charges of Amethi and Rae Bareli parliamentary seats to constitute booth committees for the party. This was when INDIA bloc was very much in place and SP and Congress had in principle agreed to contest polls as a part of that. SP strategists dismiss speculations that SP PDA Yatra in Rae Bareli had any political messaging attached to it. In the political circles, however, the move is being seen as SP’s attempt to mount pressure on Congress to start talking alliance and seat sharing.