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Political row could consolidate Jat support behind Jayant Chaudhary.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s recent “chavanni” (25-paise coin) jibe at Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary has triggered a political backlash in Uttar Pradesh and could complicate the SP’s electoral strategy in Western Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Political observers believe the remark could work to the RLD’s advantage, particularly in a region where the party has traditionally maintained a strong support base.
They argue that the controversy could lead to greater consolidation of voters around Chaudhary and potentially cost the SP seats where it may otherwise have remained competitive in the 2027 polls. Notably, at a public event, Yadav took an apparent swipe at his former ally, saying, “Hum logon ne chavanni ko rupaiya bana diya, phir bhi chhod ke chale gaye” (We turned 25 paise into a rupee, and yet they left us). Yadav’s remark was widely interpreted as a reference to Chaudhary’s statement in 2022, when, amid speculation over his possible alignment with the BJP-led NDA, he had said, “Main koi chavanni hoon jo palat jaunga” (I am not a 25-paise coin that will flip).
Chaudhary later joined the NDA ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and is currently an ally of the BJP. RLD leaders have responded sharply by invoking the longstanding political ties between the Yadav and Chaudhary families. They have highlighted the influence of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on Mulayam Singh Yadav’s political journey and argued that the SP-RLD alliance played an important role in strengthening the Samajwadi Party’s position in Western UP during the 2022 Assembly elections. The RLD has also sought to remind voters that its alliance with the SP helped bring together Jat and Muslim voters across several constituencies in the region. With the alliance now over and the RLD aligned with the BJP, the social and political equations in Western UP have undergone a significant shift.
The controversy assumes particular significance in Western UP, where the RLD has historically drawn support from Jats, Muslims and sections of the OBC community. Political observers believe the remarks could give the RLD and BJP an opportunity to further consolidate sections of the Jat electorate behind Chaudhary, while turning the issue into a broader question of regional pride and political identity. Notably, the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party have also criticised Yadav’s remarks, providing the RLD with additional political space to project Jayant Chaudhary as an important regional leader and the political heir of the Chaudhary Charan Singh legacy. Analysts believe the immediate challenge for the SP will be to retain the support among Jats that it benefited from during the 2022 elections as a result of its alliance with the RLD.
The SP is now seeking to consolidate its PDA — Pichda, Dalit and Alpasankhyak — strategy, with OBC and Muslim voters forming an important component of its support base in Western UP. The RLD, meanwhile, is relying on its alliance with the BJP to strengthen its organisational and electoral position across the region. While its association with the BJP could lead to some resistance among sections of Muslim voters, political observers believe the party’s established support among Jats and sections of the OBC community could continue to give it an electoral advantage in several constituencies. The RLD’s electoral fortunes in Uttar Pradesh have fluctuated over the years. It won 14 of the 38 seats it contested with the BJP in 2002, followed by nine and 10 seats in 2012 and 2007 respectively.
Its tally fell to just one seat in 2017. In 2022, after allying with the SP, the RLD won eight of the 33 seats allotted to it and later added another through a by-election, taking its current strength to nine MLAs. Political analysts believe the “chavanni” controversy needs to be viewed against this rapidly changing electoral landscape. The SPRLD alliance helped create a broader social coalition in Western UP in 2022, but the RLD’s subsequent shift towards the BJP has significantly altered the political contest ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. For the SP, the key challenge will be to retain its Muslim and OBC support while preventing the BJP-RLD combine from consolidating Jat voters and other sections of the electorate behind Chaudhary. An analyst noted that in a region where caste identity, farmer politics and political legacies have historically played a significant role, Yadav’s “chavanni” remark could provide the RLD and its allies with a fresh political weapon to mobilise voters against the SP in the runup to the 2027 polls.