Mobilisation focused on the Scheduled Castes (SC) has gathered momentum on Uttar Pradesh’s political chessboard ahead of the Assembly elections due early next year. The immediate trigger is the March 15 birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4). With SCs constituting roughly 21% of the State’s electorate, political parties are intensifying efforts to engage the community and position themselves as staunch advocates of the marginalised community.
Also read: Kanshiram’s legacy of Dalit empowerment left adrift
SP pushes for ‘PDA’ unity
The Samajwadi Party (SP), the principal Opposition player in the State, has announced that it will observe March 15 as “PDA Diwas”, symbolically dedicated to the cause of a broader unity of PDA — Pichhda (backward classes), Dalit, Alpasankhyak (minorities). SP president Akhilesh Yadav has described Kanshi Ram as a true icon of the marginalised social groups (the entire PDA community) and vowed to carry forward his mission. Party workers across Uttar Pradesh have been directed to observe the occasion on a larger scale. The SP is pitching that the pain and sufferings of the PDA is same, effectively pushing an OBC-Dalit alliance.
