LUCKNOW: A half-and-half image of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav juxtaposed with Dr BR Ambedkar has caused a furore in UP's political circles.
The controversial poster welcoming people to a party event has drawn criticism from various quarters since it was widely shared online on Wednesday morning.
While BJP leaders right from ministers to MPs and MLAs slammed the SP chief declaring that "there can be no greater insult... to the architect of India's Constitution," BSP supremo Mayawati also reacted strongly against the poster.
The BJP has held protests in Lucknow and across the state against the poster. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and the BJP's social media big gun, Amit Malviya, are among those who criticised the ex-UP Chief Minister and his party.
"Akhilesh Yadav is the chief of a family party and Babasaheb was against nepotism. His (Akhilesh Yadav's) ideologies do not match up with Babasaheb at all," said a senior BJP leader in Lucknow.
Malviya, meanwhile, taunted Akhilesh Yadav and the SP, saying neither could live up to Dr Ambedkar's legacy. He also referred to the row over Rana Sanga, a 16th century Rajput king, who Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman claimed invited the Mughals to India. The BJP had responded furiously. Historians said the claim was a misconception.
"There can be no greater insult to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar... than to distort his face and superimpose Akhilesh Yadav's face on it," said a BJP leader. He added that the SP and Akhilesh previously insulted the great warrior Rana Sanga, which was "absolutely unacceptable to Hindu society".
UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak chipped in, labelling the poster "a reflection of SP's corrupt mentality and a deliberate attempt to insult Babasaheb". BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former DGP Brij Lal also said that Akhilesh had insulted BR Ambedkar.
However, neither Akhilesh nor the SP have responded so far. The sharp attacks by the BJP underline the tension between it and the SP in the build-up to the 2027 Assembly election. UP has been a BJP bastion since 2017, when Yogi Adityanath led the party to a thumping win. He won again in 2022 but the margin was significantly smaller.
The SP is widely seen as a potentially strong challenger to the BJP in the state, particularly after an impressive performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati took to microblogging site X to post that such acts are not only politically inappropriate but also utterly disrespectful to the legacy of Baba Saheb.
“The architect of the Indian Constitution, the most revered Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, should not be insulted at all. SP and Congress should take special care of this, otherwise, BSP can take to streets against them,” posted the BSP chief.
She also denounced the politicisation of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, urging political parties to stand united in support of the government’s actions rather than indulging in ‘poster politics’ which leads to confusion among people.