Why Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘25 paise’ remark has upset a former ally and his party

Though the former chief minister did not name any of its former allies, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) read it as a veiled reference to its chief Jayant Chaudhary and the party’s move to leave the SP’s rainbow alliance to join the BJP-led NDA just before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. (PTI) 6 min readLucknowAug 18, 2026 01:26 PM IST First published on: Aug 17, 2026 at 10:00 PM IST “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).” Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s remark on his party’s experience with electoral alliances has stirred up a hornet’s nest as Uttar Pradesh gears up for the next year’s Assembly elections. Though the former chief minister did not name any of its former allies, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) read it as a veiled reference to its chief Jayant Chaudhary and the party’s move to leave the SP’s rainbow alliance to join the BJP-led NDA just before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.