'Parivaarvad' seems to have taken centre stage again in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 with the BJP and the Opposition sparring over familialism and dynasty politics. In a joint media address with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at the BJP, saying that if the BJP is against familialism in politics, it should pledge to not hand out tickets to any dynast and not accept any vote from any person who has a family.
"As far as the BJP's claim of parivaarvad (familialism) is concerned, on this auspicious day of Ram Navami, the party should pledge to not give tickets to or accept any votes from any family person," he said. He also exuded confidence that the 'Picchde (backward classes or OBCs), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities) (PDA) would defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the upcoming polls. PDA is the poll plank for the SP, which is a part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc in Uttar Pradesh.
Akhilesh Yadav's 'Parivaarvad' jibe at the BJP comes on the heels of another I.N.D.I.A member, the RJD, hitting out at the BJP for its "lies" of not promoting familialism in politics and Prime Minister Narendra Modi not even breaching the subject in public meetings and rallies where the NDA has fielded dynasts. PM Modi has repeatedly taken digs at Opposition parties like the Congress, the SP, and the RJD over dynasts helming party affairs.
RJD chief Lalu Yadav in a poetic jibe slammed PM Modi on an X post, saying that he was lying about his stance on dynasty politics. Later, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, while training guns at PM Modi over 'parivaarvad' said: "We are going to Jamui and will present our views among the people. When PM Modi went to Jamui, he did not talk about 'Parivarvad' because everywhere in Bihar their own candidates are from some political family. The Prime Minister should have at least told what he has done for the development of Jamui."
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The BJP, in its defence, told ABP Live last week that it was not against dynasty politics. It was against those dynasts who were taking over entire parties. "Our party presidents, like JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, and others, are not products of dynasty politics," BJP spokesperson Ajay Sehrawat told ABP Live.