As the Samajwadi Party (SP) intensifies efforts to appeal to Dalit voters, a controversial poster featuring a composite image of party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has sparked strong criticism from both the BJP and BSP. The digitally created image blends the faces of Yadav and Ambedkar into one, symbolizing unity or shared ideals.
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal slammed the move, accusing SP of trying to attract Dalit votes while aligning with the Congress — the same party, he said, that engineered Ambedkar’s electoral defeat in 1952.
BSP's UP president Vishwanath Pal also condemned the poster, pointing out that SP leaders, including its founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, never honored Ambedkar. He recalled that during SP’s rule, districts named after Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram were renamed, and an Ambedkar memorial in Lucknow built by the BSP was insulted as a “hub of extravagance.”
Pal described the poster as a deep insult to Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy.
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