Poster wars heats up Uttar Pradesh politics ahead of Panchayat Polls

As Uttar Pradesh gears up for the upcoming Panchayat elections, the state’s political atmosphere has become increasingly polarized through a high-decibel poster war among party supporters.

Supporters of political parties are demonstrating their allegiance through posters across cities and towns.

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In response to the “I Love Yogi Adityanath Ji” posters, supporters outside the Samajwadi Party office have expressed their faith by putting up “I Love Akhilesh Yadav” posters, showcasing their loyalty and reigniting party rivalries.

The poster war in UP gained momentum during Rahul Gandhi’s two-day visit to Rae Bareli, which coincided with the Voter Rights Yatra. In a striking move, Rahul Nirmal Bagi, State Secretary of SP’s Lohia Vahini, created a sensation by installing posters across the state portraying Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi, and Akhilesh Yadav as the Hindu trinity — Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh.

The posters, captioned “India’s last hope: showed Tejashwi as Lord Brahma (creator), Rahul as Lord Vishnu , and Akhilesh described as an incarnation of Lord Mahesh Mahesh/Shiva drawing both attention and criticism across the political spectrum.

From slogans of loyalty to symbolic depictions of leaders as deities, political messaging is playing out loudly.

Supporters of Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, who was released from Sitapur jail after 23 months,also joined the poster war by putting up posters outside the party office.

A poster, put up by SP leader Mohammad Ikhlaq, read, “Azam is back, this is the sign of a new dawn. Listen carefully…the wind is announcing a change in government.”

The ongoing controversy around an “I Love Mohammad” poster in Kanpur’s Rawatpur area has further inflamed passions in the already charged political atmosphere in the state.

While posters of “I Love Mahadev” were initially put up in light of the government’s tough stance on the protests in Bareilly, BJP leader and Yuva Morcha General Secretary Amit Tripathi has further heated up the political heat by posting “I Love Shri Yogi Adityanath Ji” and “I Love Bulldozers.”
These featured images of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Amit Tripathi, and a bulldozer, referring to the BJP government’s demolition drives in the state targeting illegal encroachments.

In response, Vivek Singh Yadav, National Secretary of Samajwadi Lohia Vahini, unveiled an “I Love Akhilesh Yadav Ji” poster outside the SP office. This banner highlighted major achievements from the SP government’s tenure, including the Lucknow-Agra Express, the landing of fighter jets on the expressway, and the laptop scheme.