Lucknow,

08 Jan (HS): Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party, urged to every

voter and 'PDA Prahari' on Thursday to be watchful and ensure that no plan to

suppress the PDA community's votes succeeds. In June 2023, Yadav came up with

the acronym PDA, which stood for 'Pichhde' (backward classes), Dalits, and

'Alpsankhyak' (minorities). In a post on X, he stated that, despite the efforts

of 'PDA Praharis', lakhs of votes from the PDA community had already been

removed. He urged party workers to conduct thorough verification at every

booth, with the goal of not deleting or reducing any votes. SP has designated

PDA Praharis in all districts to guarantee that PDA votes remain on

the voters' list.

Yadav

stated that voters must be made aware of the necessity of having their names on

electoral records, warning that an absence of names might be used in the

future. He said that the BJP administration may enact harsh legislation

utilizing voter lists to deny individuals certain rights and benefits. Yadav

argued that removing names from voter lists might jeopardize residents' access

to ration cards, government schemes, caste certificates, reservations, bank

accounts, property records, PAN cards, Ayushman cards, basic supplies, and even

ownership of land and buildings. Consider your name on the voter list as proof

of citizenship. Treat voter ID as your citizen ID, he added, claiming that a

land-hungry BJP administration may pass legislation to take away people's

rights, riches, and property.

Yadav

accused the BJP of manipulating elections, claiming that a party capable of

facilitating uncontested wins will go to any length, including vote

suppression, to win elections. He further claimed that corruption and seizing

of water, forests, and land were part of the BJP's covert plan. The SP head

advised members of the PDA community to take his message as a warning. He urged

them to register their ballots, defend their citizenship, and vote against the

BJP in order to build a PDA government. He went on to say that

securing one's vote entailed protecting the Constitution, reservation, and

employment, warning that the impoverished, exploited, and marginalized will

suffer the most in the end. Make your vote, safeguard your future, Yadav wrote

in his message.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi