The PDA Rath, built to carry SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s message across Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to the big battle of 2027, has found itself carrying a colour controversy before the yatra has even begun. The high-tech campaign bus drew attention not for its features but for its paint job. Critics spotted more saffron than the Samajwadi Party’s trademark red and promptly launched a political colour audit. BSP chief Mayawati said the vehicle looked closer to the BJP-RSS palette, while others wondered whether the PDA Rath had taken an unexpected ideological detour. Akhilesh, however, dismissed the fuss with a “Sawan ke andhe ko...” quip.
It’s all ‘Maya’, no ‘Anand’, in the first family of BSP
BSP chief Mayawati’s latest decision to strip nephew Akash Anand of the key party responsibilities and hand it over to niece Deepika marks another twist in a turbulent succession saga within her family. Akash was projected as Mayawati’s political heir and national coordinator in 2023, only to be removed from all party posts in May 2024 over what she described as a lack of political maturity. Though he was reinstated following a public apology, fresh factional tensions involving his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth led to renewed friction. In her latest move, Mayawati has not only sidelined Akash but also kept his sister away from organisational roles.
Rajbhar wants a pie in UP’s ‘fractured’ dream
SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar has never been accused of lacking ambition. The UP minister recently skipped a few political steps and went straight to naming the CM of a state that does not yet exist. Rajbhar confidently predicted that UP would be split into four states: Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh. He promptly declared that Purvanchal’s first CM would be from the Rajbhar community, given its electoral strength in the region. The claim was made with the confidence of a man who appears to have completed several rounds of a constitutional exercise that neither the Centre nor his allies have begun.
Namita bajpai
Our correspondent in Uttar Pradesh
namita.bajpai@newindianexpress.com
