As Uttar Pradesh edges towards the next year’s Assembly elections, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) is leaving nothing to chance.
This is evident from what Yadav has been telling his party leaders and cadres in his recent interactions with the party’s various wings and units.
His advice ranges from asking his party workers to abstain from making personal attacks against leaders of the rival parties, a cautious use of artificial intelligence (AI) to staying calm and dignified while taking on the ruling BJP ahead of the crucial state polls.
Also, the party workers were asked to be careful with their selection of words while interacting in public and writing on social media and also in making music videos for the party’s campaign.
During a meeting with party presidents of districts and assembly constituencies in Lucknow on Thursday, Yadav advised them to be careful in their “vyavhar, charitra, bol chaal aur bhasha” (behaviour, character, conduct and language) when reaching out to people.
Addressing the gathering at the party headquarters, former MP Uday Pratap Singh also reiterated Yadav’s advice.
In another meeting with the party’s frontal youth organisations on Friday, Yadav asked the office-bearers and cadres to not directly comment against key leaders of the rival parties, while keeping a focus on highlighting the previous SP government’s works in a positive manner, and avoiding altercations and arguments in public on political issues, it is learnt.
In the same meeting, Yadav warned the party leaders against any misuse of AI in attempt to target opponents or publicise their own colleagues.
“He (Akhilesh) gave an example of someone sharing a fake AI-generated photo in which he was shown touching the feet of a chief minister. To this, an SP supporter responded by using AI and created another photo showing the CM touching his (Akhilesh’s) feet. Such reactions have to be avoided. Akhilesh ji has strictly advised against the misuse of AI,” said a party leader.
“The party leadership has an apprehension that the BJP will provoke our workers and when they will react aggressively, they will present those reactions in a poor light,” said another SP leader who attended Friday’s meeting.
At the meeting, a PowerPoint presentation was made to guide the youth leaders that they should keep campaign focused on the issues of unemployment, inflation, alleged atrocities on Dalits and Muslims and lack of communal harmony.
“We have been asked not to make direct comments against leaders of rival parties like BJP and BSP. This can invite reactions and cause polarization on caste and religious lines which may result in a loss of votes for SP. Likewise, we need to stay away from commenting against any caste or community. For example, while pushing our idea of PDA (Picchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak), we ought not to make any negative comment against any upper caste,” said the party leader.
He added, “In the past nine years, many SP workers have been booked in baseless cases for making comments against BJP leaders. We have asked them to avoid making any controversial comments in public and on social media. The BJP will misuse the photos and videos of these comments in public to target the SP during the elections.”
As supporters and the party’s cultural cell often make musical videos in support of the party and its president, Akhilesh has advised them to be careful with the lyrics. “We have seen in the recent Bihar elections where some RJD supporters created objectionable songs and the BJP used those to create an apprehension that Yadavs and Muslims will get a freehand in the RJD rule. Such campaign has to be avoided in UP because the BJP always targets the SP on law and order issue,” he further said.
Akhilesh mentioned in Thursday’s meeting that there was a good momentum in favour of Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD in Bihar last year but the BJP snatched the victory, sources said.
Tejashwi had blamed some Bhojpuri singers as one of the reasons for the party’s loss in the Bihar elections, claiming they released songs which either projected an aggressive image of the party or showed it in poor light.
During a press conference a few weeks earlier, when Akhilesh allowed a music video of an office-bearer to be played at the party office, he remarked that the maker would be responsible if there was any “political error”.
When contacted, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “The BJP keeps looking for opportunities to defame our party and workers by filing cases. We ought not to give them any opportunity to tarnish the SP’s image.”
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav addresses party workers during a meeting,in Lucknow on Friday. ANI
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