UP Assembly elections 2027: Why Akhilesh Yadav calls Congress’ ‘200 seats’ posters a BJP plot

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of putting up fake posters claiming that the Congress will win more than 200 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He has also questioned the role of municipal officials in allowing the posters to appear across Lucknow and warned that those responsible would be held accountable if the PDA government comes to power in the state.

The posters read, “200 seat haq hai mahara, UP ko hai Rahul Gandhi par bhadosa (200 seats are our right, UP trusts Rahul Gandhi).” They feature Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with photographs of local party leaders.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress have not formally announced an alliance for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Seat-sharing between the two parties is a point of contention. They have not even formally announced an alliance.

In a post on X, Akhilesh alleged that the BJP was unsettled by the possibility of an alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress. He claimed that the posters were part of a plot to create confusion around the Opposition parties.

“‘Gathbandhan’ has upset the BJP. It is putting up ‘fake posters’ because it is so scared,” he wrote.

‘गठबंधन’ से भाजपा के पेट में हुआ दर्द ‘नक़ली पोस्टर’ लगा रही, इतना गई डर उप्र के म्युनिसिपल उच्चाधिकारियों को निलंबित कर देना चाहिए क्योंकि कुछ लोग बिना पैसा जमा किये सरेआम पोस्टर लगवा रहे हैं लेकिन कोई कार्रवाई नहीं हो रही है या तो इसका आधार भ्रष्टाचार है या शासन का दबाव। इन अज्ञात पोस्टरों को जब चोरी-छिपे लगाया जाता है तो स्थानीय राजस्व की हानि भी होती है, क्योंकि ऐसे पोस्टर बिना शुल्क के लगाए जाते हैं क्योंकि अगर शुल्क का आधिकारिक रूप से भुगतान किया गया तो भुगतान की रसीद भी काटनी पडेगी, ऐसे में साज़िशकर्ता का नाम बाहर आ जाएगा और वो पकड़ा जाएगा। राजस्व की इस हानि का ख़ामियाज़ा संबद्ध अधिकारियों से भरवाना चाहिए और उनके ख़िलाफ़ जाँच बैठाकर निलंबित भी कर देना चाहिए। ऐसी जितनी भी घटनाएं हो रहीं हैं हम उनका रिकार्ड तारीख़वार रख रहे हैं और ये रिकॉर्ड भी रख रहे हैं कि इस समय कौन सा अधिकारी इसके लिए ज़िम्मेदार था। पीडीए सरकार आ रही है अब वही इन भ्रष्ट अधिकारियों का सारा कच्चा-चिट्ठा खोलेगी। ED-CBI से लेकर EOW तक सबकों सक्रिय करके, इन सब भ्रष्ट अधिकारियों का पक्का हिसाब-किताब किया जाएगा।

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 25, 2026

He also called for senior municipal officials in the state to be suspended, alleging that posters had been put up publicly without the required payment of fees and that no action had been taken.

He said that the posters could have caused a loss to local government revenue if they had been installed without paying the prescribed charges. He argued that an official payment would have generated a receipt and helped establish the identity of those behind the posters.

He alleged that the failure to act could point to either corruption or pressure from the state government. Akhilesh demanded an investigation and said officials responsible for any revenue loss should be made to compensate for it.

‘PDA government will demand answers’

He said that the Samajwadi Party was keeping a record of such incidents, including the dates on which they occurred and the officials responsible at the time.

“We are keeping a date-wise record of all such incidents and also recording which officer was responsible at the time,” he wrote.

He added that a PDA government would investigate the alleged wrongdoing and hold officials accountable. PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) refers to the Samajwadi Party's political outreach to backward classes, Dalits and minorities.

He said that agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), would be activated to investigate alleged corruption involving officials.

“The PDA government is coming to Uttar Pradesh. It will expose the entire record of these corrupt officials,” Akhilesh wrote.

The posters have appeared in Lucknow ahead of the next Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, which is scheduled for 2027.