LUCKNOW: The slogan war ahead of the bypolls to nine Assembly seats has intensified in Uttar Pradesh with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav targeting Yogi Adityanath over his 'Batenge toh katenge' (division will harm us) narrative calling it a negative slogan indicative of 'disappointment and failure dominating the ruling camp' especially after the Lok Sabha poll debacle.
Taking to X, the SP chief, without naming anyone, claimed that the slogan had proved that whatever voters were left with the ruling camp were on the verge of deserting it. "That is why they are trying to unite them by scaring them but nothing like this is going to happen," posted Akhilesh Yadav.
He added that such negative slogans had a reverse impact on people. "The remaining supporters are more disappointed thinking that those whom we thought were powerful are talking about weakness even while being in power. The ideal state in our country is perceived to be fearless not fearful," he said.
The SP chief said that the slogan coined by the UP CM would go down in history as the "worst slogan" which would prove to be the nemesis of the BJP leading to its political downfall.
Advising the ruling dispensation to change its advisors and their negative outlook and attitude for the sake of the nation, the SP chief asked the BJP leadership to nurture good thoughts. "In today's positive society, we don't want the BJP," he posted.
CM Yogi had been using the slogan 'Batenge toh katenge,' giving the unity call to various castes and communities to grow instead of getting divided on caste lines. In fact, he has been pushing the narrative against the opposition's demand of a caste census. He even got a firm backing from the RSS and PM Modi on the narrative.
However, to counter Yogi's 'Batenge to katenge', Akhilesh's SP coined 'Judenge to jeetenge' (united we will win) and put it up on posters and hoardings.
On the other hand, BSP chief Mayawati pitched in countering both the BJP and SP for coming out with such slogans saying that its decision to contest the bypolls had unnerved both parties and they are using such slogans as part of their diversion tactics.
The BSP chief, however, also joined the race by coining the slogan 'BSP se judenge to aage badhenge va surakshit rahenge' (Joining BSP will bring progress).