Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has placed the integrity of electoral rolls at the heart of his party’s preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, warning that the next electoral battle would be as much about protecting the right to vote as about changing the government. He accused the BJP of attempting to preserve its political dominance through alleged voter-list manipulation, misuse of official machinery and attempts to discredit opposition parties.
Speaking at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Auditorium at the Samajwadi Party headquarters, where party leaders, workers and supporters from several districts had gathered, Yadav called for an intensive, booth-level campaign to verify voter registrations. Extending Diwali greetings to the gathering, he urged party cadres to treat every entry in the electoral roll as a matter of political importance.
BY MOHAMMAD TARIQUE SALEEM
His message to the organisation was unequivocal: no eligible voter’s name should disappear from the list. He asked party workers to examine their own registration details and verify the entries of people living in their neighbourhoods. The exercise, he indicated, must extend beyond routine party mobilisation and become a continuous organisational responsibility ahead of the Assembly elections.
Yadav also renewed his demand for linking electoral rolls with Aadhaar, arguing that access to voters’ identification details could help prevent discrepancies and electoral manipulation. His emphasis on voter registration reflected the importance the Samajwadi Party intends to attach to electoral preparedness well before the announcement of the 2027 election schedule.
The SP chief simultaneously launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing it of using allegations against opposition leaders to divert attention from its own political difficulties. He maintained that the ruling party was increasingly uncomfortable with the Samajwadi Party’s growing organisational challenge and the political consolidation of its PDA constituency, comprising backward classes, Dalits and minorities.
Describing the BJP’s position as weakened by successive electoral setbacks, Yadav referred to its performance in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Council elections. He argued that the ruling party’s political influence was declining and that its aggressive attacks on the opposition reflected anxiety over the changing electoral situation.
He predicted that voters would reject the BJP in the next Assembly elections, citing public dissatisfaction with corruption, alleged financial irregularities and the government’s overall performance. He also cautioned party workers against reacting to political provocations, stressing that discipline, patience and sustained engagement with voters would be essential to the party’s success.
Beyond electoral politics, Yadav used the gathering to outline his party’s healthcare priorities. He promised that an SP government would strengthen government hospitals and medical colleges and provide completely free treatment to poor patients without requiring them to possess special healthcare cards. He alleged that public medical infrastructure had deteriorated under the BJP government.
The address revealed two interconnected priorities in the Samajwadi Party’s emerging election strategy: securing its organisational presence at the polling-booth level and projecting an alternative model of governance centred on public services. By repeatedly invoking the protection of voting rights, Yadav sought to frame the 2027 contest as a question of democratic accountability, while positioning the SP as the principal political challenger to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
In a separate gesture reflecting the party’s engagement with the state’s Sufi heritage and traditions of communal harmony, Akhilesh Yadav presented a ceremonial chadar for the annual Urs fair at the revered shrine of Hazrat Haji Waris Ali Shah (RA) in Deva Sharif, Barabanki. The chadar will be offered at the shrine, accompanied by prayers for peace, prosperity, brotherhood and the progress of Uttar Pradesh.
The delegation entrusted with presenting the chadar included Barabanki MLA Dharmraj Singh alias Suresh Yadav and SP district president Hafiz Ayaz Ahmad, along with Mohammad Qayyum, Hazrat Akbar Shah, Hazrat Panchhi Shah, Hazrat Nirale Shah, Hazrat Niyaz Shah Warsi and Hazrat Babul Shah Warsi. Hazrat Maqbool Shah, Kaleem Shah, Maulana Israel, Rajkumar Yadav and Ehram Posh Ji were also among those associated with the ceremony. The offering at Deva Sharif added a spiritual and cultural dimension to the day’s political engagements, invoking the legacy of Hazrat Waris Ali Shah, whose teachings have long been associated with love, tolerance and communal harmony.
