UP Parties Intensify Dalit Outreach Ahead of 2027 Assembly Elections
With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections about seven months away, major political parties—including the ruling BJP, the principal Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) or ASP (KR)—have stepped up efforts to reach out to Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.
Dalits constitute about 21% of Uttar Pradesh's population, and 84 of the state's 403 Assembly seats are reserved for SC candidates. In the 2022 elections, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) won 63 reserved seats, while the then SP-led alliance secured 20. Dalits are particularly influential in western UP, Bundelkhand, and eastern UP.
A murder of a Dalit college girl in Meerut in May sparked protests, with a demonstration turning violent on July 8. The outrage intensified after a police crackdown, with demands for action against Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avinash Pandey for allegedly beating protesters. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met the victim's family on July 18, offering Rs 5 lakh financial assistance and housing, and assured strict legal action. Uttar Pradesh Social Welfare Minister Asim Arun also visited the family and reviewed the investigation.
The BJP government launched the Rs 403-crore Dr B R Ambedkar Murti Vikas Yojana in April, aiming to beautify and maintain statues of B.R. Ambedkar across all 403 constituencies. The Chief Minister also announced installing symbolic “protective umbrellas” over statues of Ambedkar and other social justice icons.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 33 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 seats, down from 62 in 2019, while the SP-Congress coalition bagged 43. Of the 17 SC-reserved parliamentary seats, the BJP won eight, the SP seven, and the Congress one. The remaining seat, Nagina, was won by Chandra Shekhar Aazad of the ASP (KR).
The SP, led by Akhilesh Yadav, held a “Samvidhan bachao, Loktantra bachao maha rally” in Meerut on Sunday and discussed B.R. Ambedkar's legacy. The party plans similar events in other districts. For the first time this year, Akhilesh celebrated BSP founder Kanshi Ram's birth anniversary on March 15 on a large scale, calling it “Bahujan Samaj Diwas” or “PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) Diwas.” SP sources indicated the party may field Dalit candidates in at least 14 general seats in the 2027 elections to strengthen its PDA plank.
The BSP, led by former Chief Minister Mayawati, has revived “bhaichara committees” to build social alliances among Dalits, Muslims, and OBCs. The party formed the Muslims Samaj Bhaichara Sangathan with two coordinators from the Muslim community. Meanwhile, the ASP (KR), founded by Chandra Shekhar Aazad, seeks to consolidate Dalit support, especially after its victory in Nagina in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
