A postcard featuring a statement attributed to Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav is being shared on social media. The text on the postcard claims: “Big statement from Akhilesh Yadav… If BSP joins the alliance, we would prefer to go with the BJP…. Akhilesh Yadav, President, Samajwadi Party.” A ticker on the postcard adds: “Special note …. Akhilesh Yadav made this statement in an interview with a news channel.”
Sharing this postcard, a user wrote: “Even the upper castes (#Swarnas) wouldn’t harbor as much hatred for the #Dalit community as the #Yadav leader Akhilesh does.”
Meanwhile, another user shared the postcard on X and wrote: “In my opinion, now Sister (Mayawati) should gherao (surround/protest) the Election Commission to get EVMs banned. A larger crowd will stand with Sister than at the rally on October 9, and Sister won’t need to form an alliance with anyone! Jai Bhim Jai Samvidhan Jai BSP.”( English Translation)
Fact Check:
The DFRAC team found during its investigation that Akhilesh Yadav had not made any such statement, and that a fake quote was being circulated on social media. During the investigation, our team observed that the viral postcard carried the logo of News18 India. Following this, we searched for the alleged statement on the News18 India Hindi website, i.e., hindi.news18.com but did not find any recent report containing the viral claim attributed to Akhilesh Yadav.
For further verification, our team reviewed all social media platforms of News18 India. However, we found no post or report related to the viral statement. We then conducted a Google search using keywords such as “Akhilesh on alliance with BSP,” but found no credible news report in which Akhilesh Yadav stated that he would join hands with the BJP if the BSP became part of the alliance.
Meanwhile, during the investigation, we found a post by Samajwadi Party National Spokesperson Mohammed Azam, in which he described the viral postcard as fake. He wrote: “The ruling party’s ‘teams’ have started spreading fake news. The increasing strength and popularity of PDA in the state has made these teams restless. Fake news is now being circulated. Honorable@yadavakhilesh ji has not given any such statement; this is completely fake and an attempt to defame PDA.”
Additionally, our team contacted Samajwadi Party National Spokesperson Rajkumar Bhati, who also denied the claim and confirmed that Akhilesh Yadav had not made any such statement.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact-check confirms that a fake statement attributed to Akhilesh Yadav is being circulated on social media. He did not say that he would join the BJP if the BSP joined the alliance. Therefore, the viral claim is fake.
