LUCKNOW, Aug 22: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Saturday demanded that Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav apologise to the Jat community over his alleged derogatory remarks about Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary and the family of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
In a post on X, Mayawati criticised Yadav’s recent reference to the RLD and its leader, saying the statement that the SP had turned them from a “chavanni” into a rupee was inappropriate and disrespectful.
She said the SP chief should apologise to both Jayant Chaudhary and the wider Jat community, particularly because Jayant is the grandson of Charan Singh, a prominent farmer leader who served as prime minister between July 1979 and January 1980.
Jayant Chaudhary is the son of late Ajit Singh, who served as a Union minister and headed the RLD for several years.
Mayawati attacks SP’s alliance politics
Mayawati alleged that the SP has a history of adopting a narrow political approach and displaying caste-based hostility towards both rival parties and former allies.
She claimed that such politics had repeatedly weakened opposition unity while indirectly benefiting the BJP.
Recalling the SP-BSP alliance of 1993, the BSP leader said the partnership eventually collapsed because of what she described as the SP’s arrogant approach. She also referred to the June 1995 Lucknow state guest house incident, when BSP leaders and workers were allegedly attacked following the breakdown of the alliance.
Mayawati further cited the 2019 Lok Sabha election alliance between the two parties, claiming that the partnership ended after the election results because of what she termed Yadav’s self centred political approach.
According to her, the SP has frequently used alliances for electoral gains and altered its political position after achieving its immediate objectives.
Attack over PDA formula
Mayawati also targeted the SP’s PDA formula, which stands for Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak.
She alleged that Yadav has changed the interpretation of the first letter, “P”, depending on political circumstances, portraying it at different times as representing backward classes and Brahmins.
The BSP chief accused previous SP governments in Uttar Pradesh of failing to take adequate measures for Dalits, backward classes, minorities and upper-caste communities. She further alleged that sections associated with criminal and mafia activities benefited during SP rule.
Mayawati urged voters across communities to remain alert against what she described as caste-based politics and appealed to them to prevent the SP from returning to power in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Jayant Chaudhary responds
The controversy intensified after Jayant Chaudhary responded to Yadav’s remarks late Friday without directly naming the SP leader.
Chaudhary said that if Yadav wanted to use derogatory language in a political battle, he could have addressed him directly. He also said he had witnessed such arrogance closely and believed that this kind of conduct ultimately contributed to a person’s downfall.
The dispute has brought renewed attention to the political meaning of the “chavanni” comment ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls.
Yadav had recently used the expression while claiming that the SP had increased the political value of its former allies.
The remark referred to Chaudhary’s statement during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election campaign, when he rejected the BJP’s attempts to draw the RLD away from its alliance with the SP and said he was not a “chavanni” that could be easily switched.
The RLD subsequently joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, with Jayant Chaudhary later becoming a Union minister.
The latest confrontation contrasts sharply with the close political partnership between Yadav and Chaudhary during the 2022 election campaign, when the SP and RLD jointly campaigned across western Uttar Pradesh.