How Akhilesh's 'PDA' plank turned the tide for Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh

The Samajwadi Party, led by Akhilesh Yadav, delivered a massive blow to the BJP in UP as it emerged as the single largest party and, together with Congress as part of the INDIA bloc, was able to halve the BJP’s tally in the state that had played a crucial role in propelling the ruling party to victory in the last two general elections. It was the SP’s best performance in a Lok Sabha election ever (it had won 35 seats in 2004), and with these results, a redefined SP under Akhilesh Yadav has become the third largest national party after BJP and Congress, in what considerably raises Yadav’s national stature and makes him a force to reckon with, especially in the 2027 state assembly elections.

What also worked for the SP-Congress alliance this time, as against 2017, was the fact that this time, the spirit of alliance reached the cadres, and the SP enthusiastically campaigned for the Congress and vice versa. As a result, the grand old party was able to resurrect itself in the state, winning six seats, when it had been reduced to only one seat in 2019.

By 9 pm, the SP had won 27 seats and was leading in 10 out of a total of the 62 seats it contested, while the Congress had won six seats, giving the INDIA bloc a decisive edge in 43 seats. Meanwhile, the BJP had won in 28 seats and was leading in 5 others, and along with three seats of its allies –– RLD and Apna Dal (S), the NDA, which had won 64 seats in UP in 2019, was reduced to 36. “The aware citizens of UP have once again showed a new direction to the country, and birthed a new hope. This victory is to save the Constitution, democracy, reservation and social justice. It is the progressive thought of UP which we have gained from in the form of votes. This is a victory against the negative politics of division, and a victory of harmony, brotherhood and positive politics. It is the victory of INDIA, and PDA unity,” Yadav said. In a message to voters of UP at his press conference, Rahul Gandhi said, “You have done wonders! Your political wisdom (is great). UP understood India’s politics and the threat to the Constitution and saved it.”

TICKETING STRATEGY

Right from standing its ground when it came to giving the Congress a more realistic figure of 17 seats to fight, to making sure it gave most tickets to non-Yadav OBCs and Dalits, the SP’s ticketing strategy is significantly being credited for leading INDIA to a stunning victory. Assured of almost en bloc support from Muslims and Yadavs, Akhilesh gave tickets to only 5 Yadavs –– all of whom belonged to his family –– while only four Muslims were given tickets.

Crucially, it fielded 27 candidates belonging to non-Yadav OBCs prominently Nishads and Kurmis, among others, and also experimented by fielding some Dalits on non-reserved seats like in Ayodhya, as these were the segments which were found to be struggling with issues of price rise, unemployment, paper leaks, and threats to Constitution. Akhilesh’s ‘PDA’ (Picchda Dalit Alpsankhyak) plank paid off and the party virtually swept the seats in Purvanchal where both non-Yadav OBCs and Dalits make a significant chunk of the electorate. SP also won 7 reserved seats.

BSP FACTOR

With Dalits also now ruling out the BSP as an option, a large segment of the community rallied behind the INDIA bloc. “Why should we waste our vote?” was the refrain among a lot of Dalits on the ground when asked about whether they would prefer the BSP. The result was that the BSP’s vote share was reduced to a dismal 2% and the INDIA seems to have gained considerably from the fall. Out of the 10 seats that the BSP won in 2019, seven were lapped up by INDIA, with SP winning six of them. This was also evident with the alliance winning a lot of reserved seats like Congress winning Barabanki, SP winning Mohanlalganj, Jalaun, Lalganj, Kaushambhi, and others.