Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s slogan ‘Batenge toh Katenge’ (roughly meaning we will perish if divided) has been given a twist by other key political parties in the state.
The Samajwadi Party’s version of the slogan is ‘Judenge tab Jeetenge’ (When united we shall win). Akhilesh Yadav had recently taken to X to post that the BJP’s slogan had negative connotations, while his party’s slogan had positive energy. It is aimed at bringing together the party’s winning combination of Pichda, Dalit and Alpasankhyak voters, which delivered rich yields for the party in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.
The slogan Batenge toh Katenge was first used by Yogi Adityanath in relation to the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. It has since been adopted by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Vidhan Sabha polls in Maharashtra. It is also the party’s rallying cry in Uttar Pradesh, where bypolls are due in nine seats.
Yadav has said recently that the BJP is scared of the bypoll results as it is aware that its voter base is rapidly shrinking. The party had thus coined a slogan designed to scare off people. “It symbolizes their (the BJP) disappointment and failure”, Yadav posted.
The Bahujan Samaj Party also has its own version of the slogan. Party chief Mayawati posted on X: “BSP se judenge toh aage badhenge aur surakshit rahenge” (When we join with the BSP, we shall move forward and stay safe). Mayawati has said that both the BJP and the SP slogans are designed to mislead voters and that the parties are actually trying to divide people.
This coming together of religion and politics signifies the complex political web of the state. It also underscores the fact that for all talk of development, elections in the state are fought only on the basis of caste equations. The focus of the BJP is the upper caste and backward voters, while the Samajwadi Party is hoping to benefit from the Muslim and the Yadav votes.