LUCKNOW: BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde arrived in Lucknow on Saturday for his first visit to Uttar Pradesh after being appointed the party’s state in-charge, and immediately trained his guns on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, taking a swipe at the opposition’s much-publicised “PDA” formula.
Tawde said the BJP would counter the Samajwadi Party’s PDA politics, giving the acronym a new, mocking interpretation — “Paraya Dhan Apna” — and alleging that the SP’s politics involved appropriating what belonged to others.
“PDA and SP mean ‘Paraya Dhan Apna’. NDA will never let this happen,” Tawde said while speaking to reporters after reaching Lucknow. He added that slogans built around the SP’s PDA formulation would be countered by the BJP.
The remark is significant as the BJP begins preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, where Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA — broadly referring to Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak — has emerged as a central plank of the SP’s electoral strategy.
Tawde’s first UP visit as state in-charge
Tawde was appointed the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge in August, replacing the earlier arrangement as the party begins intensifying its organisational preparations for the 2027 polls. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had congratulated Tawde following his appointment.
His arrival in Lucknow marks the beginning of a politically important assignment in a state that remains crucial to the BJP’s national electoral calculations.
Unlike the elaborate receptions usually organised for senior BJP leaders, Tawde had reportedly asked party workers not to put up large hoardings or organise a grand welcome. His message was to keep the visit focused on organisational work and election preparations.
Senior BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary and other state office-bearers, welcomed him at the airport.
Meetings with Yogi, deputies and RSS
Tawde is scheduled to hold a series of meetings during his two-day visit. His programme includes discussions with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, senior BJP leaders and RSS functionaries.
The meetings are expected to focus on the BJP’s organisational preparedness, political situation in the state and the party’s roadmap for the 2027 Assembly elections.
Booth-level management is expected to remain an important component of the BJP’s preparations. Tawde has already been associated with election management in other states, including Bihar, and the BJP leadership is banking on his organisational experience in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP takes aim at SP’s PDA strategy
Tawde’s attack on PDA also underlines one of the BJP’s key challenges in the run-up to the 2027 election.
The SP has attempted to consolidate backward classes, Dalits and minorities under its PDA formulation, seeking to expand its social coalition beyond its traditional support base. The BJP, meanwhile, has been working on strengthening its own social and organisational outreach while countering the SP’s narrative.
For Tawde, the first public political message from Lucknow was therefore directed at Akhilesh Yadav and the SP.
The BJP’s new UP in-charge is likely to spend the coming months assessing the party’s booth-level organisation, social equations and coordination between the government and organisation. His first visit, combining organisational meetings with a direct political attack on the SP, signals that the BJP’s 2027 campaign is already beginning to take shape.
The immediate test for Tawde will be to convert the BJP’s organisational machinery and the Yogi government’s political appeal into an electoral strategy capable of countering the SP’s PDA coalition.
