After a recent tweet by PM Narendra Modi warning people 'not to trust lal topi (red cap) wearers' in the run-up to the UP Polls caused a stir, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav turned up at the Parliament sporting a red cap.
The red cap, derived from the SP's party flag colours of red and green, serves to distinguish the party leaders amid UP's crowded political melting pot. Party leaders say that this also makes a bold statement.
Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary, who has attended all of SP conventions since its inception in 1992, said the red in the SP’s flag stands for its commitment towards labourers, and the green for farmers, according to a report by The Indian Express.
“The red cap was adopted by socialist leaders in their first convention in 1934 in Patna. The leaders subsequently went their separate ways, but they and the members of their organisations and parties continued to wear the red cap. One example is that of the Praja Socialist Party, whose leaders too wore red caps,” Chaudhary told the publication.
Although Mulayam Singh Yadav, the party founder, was not overly fond of wearing caps of any colour, he did suggest the Yuvjan Sabha, a front organisation of his party, to wear red caps in 1998.
However, unlike his father, Akhilesh has been a proponent of the red cap since his entry into politics. At the SP's eighth national conference in Argra in June 2011, Akhilesh made his first appearance with the trademark red cap, with his entourage also sporting the caps.
After becoming the party chief in 2016-17, Akhilesh encouraged party workers and leaders to wear the cap, and took to distinguish himself with the cap since losing the 2017 Assembly elections to the BJP.
In a statement on December 8, Akhilesh said, “BJP leaders are scared of the red cap… BJP ki lal batti gul hone wali hai (BJP's sun is set to disappear).”
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