Attributing a new meaning to the Samajwadi Party’s PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formulation, party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that the Dalit community had now become ‘damdar’ (assertive) and would help oust the BJP from power in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Addressing a ‘Dalit Sammelan’ organised for western Uttar Pradesh in Agra, Yadav said the turnout suggested that the gathering had assumed a national character. He credited party MP Ramji Lal Suman and other leaders with organising the conference and described it as the beginning of a broader movement for the uplift of marginalised communities.
“This was a Dalit conference of western UP, but the turnout makes it appear like a national-level Dalit conference. The ‘D’ in PDA has now become ‘damdar Dalit’,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, Yadav said those who considered Agra their stronghold would soon lose their foothold. “This time, the Dalit community will defeat the BJP,” he asserted.
The SP chief also said that the fight in 2027 was between laptop and lathi, adding that “lathi will lose and laptop will win the assembly polls.”
Responding to criticism by BJP leaders over his proposed visit to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Yadav said the party was questioning his plans despite having extended the invitation. “First, they (BJP) extend an invitation and when it is accepted, they question why I am going to pray at the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Responding to criticism by BJP leaders over his proposed visit to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Yadav said the party was questioning his plans despite having extended the invitation. “First, they (BJP) extend an invitation and when it is accepted, they question why I am going to pray at the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The BJP is in panic because it has understood that those from the PDA have learnt to win by vote,” Yadav said.
Referring to chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s claim that 1.27 crore Hindu voters’ names had been deleted from electoral rolls, Yadav questioned how such deletions could have taken place when the BJP was in power and had its own officials and administrative machinery.
He claimed that alert Dalits had got their names included in the rolls while Muslims had managed to protect their names from deletion. He cautioned PDA communities against further attempts to distort electoral rolls. “If we cannot save our vote, we will not be able to save our Constitution,” he said.
Referring to Union home minister Amit Shah’s description of the BJP as an “Angad’s foot” in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said the ground beneath the party’s feet would soon shift. “Where will the Angad’s foot stand when the land underneath moves?” he asked, referring to the turnout at the Agra conference. He described the 2027 election as a contest between 95% of the deprived, poor and oppressed sections and the remaining 5%.
Alleging that Dalits were being targeted in the state, Yadav claimed around 200 statues of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar had been vandalised over the past decade without action against those responsible. He accused the BJP of orchestrating paper leaks to deny employment and reservation opportunities and said the closure of 26,000 government primary schools had disproportionately affected PDA children.
Yadav also promised social justice, better police response services and welfare measures for SC/ST communities if the SP returned to power. He accused the government of failing on women’s safety, healthcare and employment, while promising minimum wages and overtime payments for workers in Agra’s industries.
Taking a swipe at emerging political players, he called them “political tourists” acting at the behest of others. He also criticised the BJP’s 80:20 political narrative, saying a true Yogi should speak for everyone.