Blue jeans, campus drives: SP turns focus to students ahead of UP assembly elections

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav announced that Chhatra Sabha members would spend the next two weeks reaching out to students in colleges and universities to familiarise them with the party’s ideology and its approach to issues concerning the youth. The drive seeks to bring more students into the party fold and strengthen the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) movement at the grassroots level.

With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections barely six months away, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday launched a focused youth outreach programme through its student wing, Chhatra Sabha, aiming to connect with college and university students across the state.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav address Chhatra Sabha members in Lucknow on Tuesday. The party also introduced a new uniform for the student wing members — a navy blue T-shirt paired with light blue jeans. (HT)

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav announced that Chhatra Sabha members would spend the next two weeks reaching out to students in colleges and universities to familiarise them with the party’s ideology and its approach to issues concerning the youth. The drive seeks to bring more students into the party fold and strengthen the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) movement at the grassroots level.

“Our Chhatra Sabha members are launching a new campaign from today. They will reach out to students in colleges, universities and other educational institutions, making them aware of our progressive approach. We will ensure more and more youth join the party and the PDA movement. The wing will work to unite students and foster brotherhood on campuses,” Yadav said.

He added that feedback gathered from students during the campaign would help the party identify key concerns and refine its manifesto for the 2027 polls.

In a visible shift, the party also introduced a new uniform for Chhatra Sabha members — a navy blue T-shirt paired with light blue jeans. Explaining the choice of colours, Yadav linked them to the Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar, the working class, the spirit of rebellion and the everyday style preferred by today’s youth.

Looking ahead, the former chief minister promised that if the Samajwadi Party formed the government, student leaders would be sent to foreign universities to study how student unions function abroad. The experience, he said, would be used to strengthen student democracy in Uttar Pradesh.

The announcement comes days after Cockroach Janta Party co-convener Ashutosh Ranka met Yadav at the SP headquarters.

Yadav cautioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the circulation of “derogatory” and personal AI-generated videos, saying SP workers would not hesitate to respond in kind if such tactics continued.

SP Chhatra Sabha national president Imran Idris, state president Vineet Kushwaha and spokesperson Pooja Shukla were present on the occasion.