Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited Ghaziabad on Friday to seek support for BJP candidates in the October 23 teachers' and graduates' polls. He attacked the Samajwadi Party, saying, "PDA means Pariwar Development Authority, as they nominated their 'Chacha jaan' and Dhanna Seth from Uttar Pradesh." The election remains crucial.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday visited Ghaziabad seeking support of its two candidates for the Meerut-Saharanpur Techers' and Graduates' constituencies, for which the election is scheduled for October 23.
BJP's Shrichand Sharma is pitted against Nitin Kumar Tomar of the Samajwadi Party (SP) from the Teachers' constituency. For graduates' constituency, BJP's Dinesh Kumar Goyal is contesting against SP's Pramesh Singh.
Teachers' and Graduates' constituencies are special electoral colleges that elect a fraction of members to the upper house in the bicameral UP state legislature.
He said when SP was in power, Uttar Pradesh was known for "riots, curfews, and lawlessness".
"While coming to Ghaziabad, I saw a number of Ramleelas being organised at several places along the way. Had the SP been in power, riots would have started by now, and a curfew would have been imposed," he alleged.
"Results for more than 32,600 candidates in the UP Police recruitment exam had been declared. Results for the recruitment of more than 42,000 home guards were also announced. The teacher recruitment process was in its final stage," he added.
Taking potshots at SP, Adityanath said the PDA acronym coined by the opposition party means "Pariwar Development Authority", as it has nominated a dynast and a businessman for Rajya Sabha.
"PDA means Pariwar Development Authority, as they nominated their 'Chacha jaan' (Ram Gopal Yadav) and Dhanna Seth (Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani) from Uttar Pradesh. This is their reality," Adityanath said.
The SP has coined the concept of PDA -- Pichhda (backward classes/OBCs), Dalit, and Alpasankhyak (minorities) -- to build a broader social and political coalition.
Responding to the allegations, SP's district president Faizal Hussain said the BJP is afraid of the PDA after its poor performance in UP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"The CM has the same speech that he recites every time he appears in a public rally. The youth, farmers, and masses are annoyed with the BJP on the ground, and they know the ground-level realities. Medical facilities and education have not improved, jobs are hard to find, and people are suffering. The core sectors have been left in the hands of private players close to the BJP. They want to win elections by manipulating the system and don't rely on their achievements," he added.