Stepping up its outreach to Dalits and other marginalised communities ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has announced that it will celebrate the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram as ‘PDA Diwas’ or ‘Bahujan Samaj Diwas’ across the state on March 15 this year.
The party’s Baba Saheb Ambedkar Vahini has been tasked with organising programmes at district headquarters across the state.
Taking to social media, SP president Akhilesh Yadav said that ‘PDA Diwas’ was a new beginning symbolically dedicated to all the great individuals of the community who never supported any hegemony in pursuit of the dignity, uplift and equality of every oppressed, distressed, and humiliated individual.
However, the move drew a sharp reaction from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, who termed it “mere drama”.
The SP’s PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) plank focusing on backward classes, Dalits and minorities has become central to its political messaging. The strategy paid dividends in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the SP won 37 seats and emerged as the third-largest party in Parliament.
The SP’s outreach to Dalits has evolved over the years, moving from symbolic gestures to structural inclusion. In 2019, the party began observing the anniversaries of Dr BR Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, and installed Ambedkar’s bust alongside that of Ram Manohar Lohia at its headquarters. On December 6 last year, it also announced to observe Ambedkar’s Parinirvan Diwas (death anniversary) on a grand scale across the state.
{{/usCountry}}The SP’s outreach to Dalits has evolved over the years, moving from symbolic gestures to structural inclusion. In 2019, the party began observing the anniversaries of Dr BR Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, and installed Ambedkar’s bust alongside that of Ram Manohar Lohia at its headquarters. On December 6 last year, it also announced to observe Ambedkar’s Parinirvan Diwas (death anniversary) on a grand scale across the state.
{{/usCountry}}Ram Babu Sudarshan, national general secretary of the SP Baba Saheb Ambedkar Vahini, said Mayawati’s remark insulted the sentiments of millions from Bahujan, backward, Dalit and minority communities.
He said celebrating Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary as ‘Bahujan Samaj Diwas’ or ‘PDA Diwas’ was aimed at promoting social justice and unity among marginalised communities. “PDA Diwas is not against anyone, but in favour of social justice. Kanshi Ram ji’s dream was participation in power, not symbolic politics. Kanshi Ram Ji dedicated his entire life to fighting social injustice and bringing the deprived communities into the mainstream of power,” Sudarshan added.
He further stated that PDA Diwas would be celebrated on March 15 at every district headquarters, and Ambedkar Vahini officials and workers would ensure its success.