Akhilesh sees internal discord in omission of Dy CMs in UP govt ads

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday publicly criticized the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for excluding the names of its two deputy chief ministers from a recent government advertisement. In a post on his WhatsApp channel, questioning the significance of officials who fail to appear in such government communications, he hinted at growing internal tensions within the ruling party.

“Those who didn’t get a place in the advertisement, what importance do they hold in the government? The public is asking, have the two Deputy Chief Minister positions been abolished in the UP BJP government?” Yadav wrote. He expressed surprise that junior ministers were named in the advertisement, while the deputy chief ministers were conspicuously left out.

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Yadav suggested this omission might reflect a dismissive attitude or a “dominant mindset” within the BJP leadership. “Is this another case of ‘I don’t like it, so it doesn’t exist’ or ‘dominant mindset’ taking over?” he asked.

The Samajwadi leader also referenced an ongoing power struggle, saying, “On one hand, in the fight of the double engine, someone gets historically insulted by being seated aside in an important program, and now they’re taking revenge by being shown aside in the advertisement. On the other hand, the Chief Minister doesn’t even mention their Deputies in the same advertisement.”

Highlighting what he described as internal clashes, Yadav remarked, “It seems that in the BJP, not only are the engines clashing, but the coaches are also hitting each other.”

He further criticized the BJP government for excluding Ayodhya’s Member of Parliament from the Deepotsav festival, calling it an affront to the PDA community. “The BJP government’s act of not inviting Ayodhya’s MP from the PDA to the Deepotsav has hurt the entire PDA community. What can one expect from a party that is drowning in the arrogance of a dominant mindset and is not even considerate towards its own? This time, the Deputy CMs might be out!”

The controversy surfaced amid reports of factionalism within the BJP’s leadership in Uttar Pradesh, where the “double engine” government model—referring to the alliance between state and central BJP leadership—has faced criticism for internal power struggles. The Deputy Chief Minister posts in UP have traditionally been seen as important for maintaining political balance and representing diverse communities.