The Samajwadi Party has frequently ridiculed the BJP over empty chairs at its rallies. However, the party has now faced similar criticism itself, and in Kannauj, a constituency closely associated with its chief, Akhilesh Yadav. A poorly attended PDA workers’ conference in Kannauj, where Akhilesh is the sitting MP, has led to a major organisational overhaul. The party has dissolved its entire district unit and removed leaders from several organisational positions.
The incident began with a conference organised by Samajwadi Party state president Shyamlal Pal at the party office in Kannauj. The stage was prepared, hundreds of chairs had been arranged, and party leaders and workers had been invited. However, the turnout fell well short of expectations.
Videos from the event showed party leaders and office-bearers seated on the stage, with rows of empty chairs in front of them. The audience appeared smaller than the group on the stage. The conference failed to attract a substantial crowd, and footage of the event soon spread across social media, turning the organisational setback into a political embarrassment.
The location added to the embarrassment. Kannauj is not an ordinary district but a constituency strongly associated with Akhilesh Yadav and his family.
IN AKHILESH'S STRONGHOLD, HIS INFLUENCE FAILED TO DRAW A CROWD
Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, have both represented Kannauj in the Lok Sabha on multiple occasions. Akhilesh currently serves as the constituency’s MP, and many local party leaders and workers are believed to regard themselves as having a direct connection with him.
However, this proximity may have weakened the local party organisation. According to accounts of the incident, some local leaders consider their association with Akhilesh special, distinguishing themselves from workers in other districts. For them, the party chief’s presence in Kannauj may matter more than the organisational structure itself.
When Shyamlal Pal arrived to conduct the PDA workers’ conference, several local leaders attended and occupied the stage. But efforts to bring ordinary party workers and members of the public to the event apparently failed.
The gathering consequently highlighted the gap between the leaders present on stage and the crowd they were expected to mobilise.
BJP USES EMPTY CHAIRS TO QUESTION THE PDA OUTREACH
The Samajwadi Party’s social media accounts have repeatedly targeted the BJP over poorly attended meetings, highlighting empty chairs at rallies addressed by senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The party has also pointed to instances where attendees left before speeches concluded.
The Kannauj conference gave the BJP an opportunity to turn that criticism against its political rival.
BJP leaders used the videos to argue that the PDA—an acronym for Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak, referring to backward classes, Dalits and minorities—was merely a slogan promoted by Akhilesh Yadav. They claimed the people the Samajwadi Party says it represents were not attending its programmes.
For the Samajwadi Party, the setback went beyond the poor turnout. The footage also raised doubts about the local organisation’s ability to mobilise workers for an event led by its own state president.
ENTIRE KANNAUJ DISTRICT UNIT DISSOLVED AFTER POOR TURNOUT
The party acted quickly following the conference. It dissolved the entire Kannauj district unit and removed leaders occupying various organisational posts.
The decision also conveyed a message that local leaders could not neglect their responsibilities simply because they were close to Akhilesh Yadav. The poor attendance exposed not only a failure to mobilise people but also an apparent lack of priority given to a programme organised by the state president.
The episode may have been especially troubling for Akhilesh because the conference failed to draw a sizeable audience even in his own parliamentary constituency, where the party might have expected an active and responsive organisation.
By dissolving the district unit, the leadership has sought to make clear that no leader, regardless of influence or proximity to the party chief, can take the organisation for granted.
FROM GORAKHPUR TO ETAH AND KASGANJ, A FAMILIAR RESPONSE FROM AKHILESH
Kannauj is not the first district where Akhilesh Yadav has dissolved the local party organisation. Similar incidents in Gorakhpur, Etah and Kasganj have previously led to sweeping action.
In Etah and Kasganj, Akhilesh dissolved the district units after a confrontation involving two senior leaders, including Yogendra Singh Yadav. The leaders reportedly asserted their influence and argued in front of Akhilesh at the party office. The incident spread across social media and was viewed as evidence of competing power centres in the two districts, where local leaders were vying for influence over party affairs and the distribution of election tickets.
Akhilesh subsequently disbanded the party organisations in both districts.
Gorakhpur faced a separate controversy when a Thakur leader from the Samajwadi Party allegedly slapped and assaulted a fellow party member from the Nishad community during a party event. After a video of the incident circulated online, the party dissolved its Gorakhpur unit.
The circumstances differed across the three cases. Gorakhpur involved an alleged physical altercation between party members, while the Etah and Kasganj incidents exposed tensions over local influence. In Kannauj, the immediate cause was a conference where the empty chairs became more prominent than the leaders addressing the gathering.
Nevertheless, the response has followed a similar pattern: dissolving entire district organisations rather than restricting action to individual office-bearers.
A WARNING TO PARTY WORKERS, BUT WILL IT HAVE AN EFFECT?
Akhilesh Yadav’s repeated decisions to dissolve district organisations indicate an effort to strengthen his control and enforce discipline within the party. However, the recurrence of such incidents raises questions about whether local leaders are responding to these warnings.
In Kannauj, the inability to mobilise a crowd for a programme led by the state president has brought the issue into focus. Akhilesh may have a strong personal presence in the constituency, but that influence did not translate into a large audience for the party event.
The immediate consequences include the dissolution of the district unit and the removal of several leaders from their positions. Politically, the incident has also given the BJP an opportunity to attack the Samajwadi Party’s PDA outreach.
For a party that has repeatedly mocked its rival over empty chairs, the Kannauj conference has produced an uncomfortable reversal. This time, the empty seats were in its own stronghold.
