The poster was installed by Samajwadi Party Yuvjan Sabha state secretary and advocate Vishwas Dubey. It portrays Akhilesh Yadav as Lord Krishna, wearing a peacock-feather crown and yellow traditional attire, with a flute in his hand. Dubey himself is depicted as Sudama.
The poster describes Akhilesh Yadav as the ‘PDA Mahanayak’ and carries the message, “Mere Madhav, aapka Sudama ki dharti Raebareli mein swagat hai!” meaning, “My Madhav, your Sudama welcomes you to the land of Sudama, Raebareli.”
Harachandpur Samajwadi Party MLA Rahul Lodhi reacted to the poster before Akhilesh Yadav reached Raebareli. Defending the depiction, Lodhi also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said the BJP’s thinking was bad and alleged that the party kept trying to impose its policies on society but would not succeed.
Lodhi said BJP leaders were adept at provoking people and dividing society along caste lines. He alleged that keeping people fighting among themselves served their political interests.
On the depiction of Akhilesh Yadav as Krishna and the party worker as Sudama, Lodhi said that in the Dwapar Yuga, Sudama was a companion of Lord Krishna and lived with him. He said this tradition had continued since that period and that he had no objection to such a poster.
Akhilesh Yadav’s visit to Rahul Lodhi’s residence for tea came at a time when the SP chief had reached Raebareli from Lucknow. After the tea meeting, he was scheduled to travel through the district in the ‘PDA Rath’ and interact with party workers and supporters.
According to the available programme, the ‘PDA Rath’ moved from the Bachhrawan area towards Raebareli city, with the programme scheduled at the GIC ground. The visit is part of the Samajwadi Party’s effort to intensify its political activities in Raebareli.
Akhilesh Yadav’s visit to Lodhi’s residence also follows a recent controversy in Raebareli involving workers of the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Rahul Lodhi had alleged that local police personnel assaulted him during the clash. However, the district police administration denied the allegation.
Following the controversy, the Samajwadi Party had questioned the action taken by the police and administration.
Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘PDA Rath’ campaign is being linked to the Samajwadi Party’s preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The party’s PDA formula focuses on bringing together backward, Dalit and minority communities. Through the campaign, the SP is seeking to strengthen contact with its organisation and workers in central Uttar Pradesh.
The choice of Raebareli has also drawn attention because it is an important political area of the Congress and its current Lok Sabha MP is Rahul Gandhi.
The Samajwadi Party has specially prepared the ‘PDA Rath’ for the campaign. Reports say the vehicle carries images of Dr BR Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia, Janeshwar Mishra, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Beni Prasad Verma, along with messages related to social justice.
The latest poster in Raebareli comes shortly after another poster outside the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow drew attention. That poster depicted Akhilesh Yadav receiving the blessings of Lord Hanuman for 2027.
The sequence of posters and the ‘PDA Rath’ programme have brought renewed attention to the SP’s political outreach in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, while the Raebareli visit has also brought the party’s local organisational activities and recent dispute with the police back into focus.
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