Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) sought to expand his party’s ‘PDA’ constituency and include Pandits or Brahmins in its Pichhda-Dalit-Alpsankhyak (Backwards, Dalits and minorities) matrix ahead of the State Assembly poll due early next year. The SP has used the PDA plank as a call for broader unity of forces of social justice since the 2022 Assembly election.

“People keep talking about PDA and inventing new meanings about it. Ever since they (BJP) lost to PDA, they have been trying to redefine it. But they have forgotten that the ‘PD’ in PDA also stands for Pandit. The more they inflict peeda (pain), the stronger PDA will become,” said the SP chief while addressing a ‘Brahmin/Prabuddh varg Sammelan’ at the party headquarters in Lucknow on the birth anniversary of late Socialist leader and MP Janeshwar Mishra.

Mr. Yadav hit out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for “neglecting” Brahmins, other marginalised communities and religious leaders, and accused it of targeting Opposition workers and leaders. “They were already targeting our workers and us. Now they have also started targeting the Brahmin community. They are after the ‘P’ of PDA as well,” he alleged.

The SP chief referred to Swami Avimukteshwaranand being prevented from taking a holy dip during the Kumbh congregation earlier this year. “If there is any example in history where a government stopped a Shankaracharya from taking a holy dip, show us one. A false POCSO case was also filed to intimidate him, but he did not bow down,” he said.

In another signal to Brahmins, he said the SP, whenever it has got the chance, has done the work of giving respect to the community. He touched upon the embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple as well: “Today, the biggest sin committed by anyone is that by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which stole even the offerings made to Lord Shri Ram… Lord Shri Ram will not let them win.”

‘Game changer’

Lucknow-based political analyst Asad Rizvi said the signal to Brahmins is aimed at securing a section of votes that could prove to be a game changer. “Brahmins, with a population of over 9%, are traditional BJP voters. The SP plans to align with the Brahmin community through Janeshwar Mishra’s birth anniversary. It knows that winning the community’s trust will significantly ease its path to power,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin on Saturday (July 4, 2026) in Lucknow said that the BJP will register a decisive and thumping victory in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections and asked the party leaders to reach out to every section of society.

Mr. Nabin, who reached Lucknow on a two-day visit, added that he was overwhelmed by the respect received in the land of Lord Shri Ram. 

The BJP’s president tour is seen as an attempt to strengthen the party’s preparation going into the crucial Assembly polls. “In 2027 again a double engine government will be formed in Uttar Pradesh for the third consecutive time with a huge majority. The double engine government has done a lot of development of the state. The duo of Narendra Modi Ji and Yogi Ji has made Uttar Pradesh a great State,” he said, addressing State office-bearers and district presidents in Lucknow. 

 “We must not be fooled by the Opposition. We must work for the development of Uttar Pradesh. If you want to make a place in the common people’s heart and mind, you have to reach out to them. You have to travel to every village, every home, every person. You have to effectively convey the schemes of the double engine government and the programmes of the party to every voter,” he said. 

The BJP president also chaired a meeting of the party MPs and MLAs. “The outpouring of public support in Lucknow today clearly shows that the people have unwavering faith in the NDA government’s resolve for a ‘developed India’, good governance and public welfare policies under the guidance of the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and the leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji. With the spirit of ‘Nation First’, each of our workers is working with full devotion and dedication to make Uttar Pradesh the ‘growth engine’ of the country and to realise the resolve of forming the NDA government again in 2027,” he added. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, National General Secretary (Organisation) of the BJP B.L. Santhosh, U.P. BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary, and Deputy CMs Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya were present on the occasion.