SP's Dalit-OBC outreach to counter BJP in UP

Samajwadi Party (SP), BJP's main electoral rival in Uttar Pradesh, has sought to reach out to the Dalits and 'non-Yadav' OBCs ahead of the next year's Lok Sabha polls to counter the saffron party in the state which sends 80 MPs to the lower house.

The SP sought to expand its support base beyond Muslims and Yadavs and aimed at increasing its vote share from 36 per cent (votes secured by SP in 2022 assembly polls in UP) to around 45 per cent. BJP had secured a little over 41 per cent of votes in the 2022 assembly elections.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav's strategy to increase the party's vote share was reflected in the newly announced national executive committee of the party. Of 62 members in the committee, around 40 per cent were from 'non-Yadav' OBC communities and included several senior leaders. These leaders hailed from electorally influential communities including Pasi, Kurmi, Rajbhar, Nishad' and others. Similarly, as many as six members of the committee were Dalits.

That Akhilesh sought to counter the BJP's Hindutva pitch with 'non-Yadav' OBCs and Dalits was also evident when he said that for the SP Ambedkar was the biggest religion, terming the BJP an 'anti-Dalit' party.

Akhilesh's Dalit outreach was also evident when he roped in Bhim Army president and firebrand Dalit leader Chandrashekhar alias Ravan and also reached out to the electorally influential 'Tyagi' community to alter the electoral equations in the 'Jat' dominated western UP region for 2024 polls. Chandrashekhar, who has formed his own outfit Azad Samaj Party, commanded considerable influence over the Dalit community in the western districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Baghpat and some others.

''BJP's Hindutva formula can only be countered with the help of OBCs and dalits. We reaped electoral success in Mainpuri LS bypoll and Khatauli assembly bypoll through this strategy and we will defeat the BJP with the same strategy in 2024 also,'' said a senior SP leader while speaking to DH here.