Lucknow: There are now a few months left for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Political activities have intensified regarding the votes of about 21 percent of the Dalit population of the state. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday called a meeting of the office-bearers of the reserved assembly seats in the state. Through this meeting, he tried to sharpen the party’s strategy on Dalit votes. The Samajwadi Party is focusing on 65 of the total 86 reserved seats in the state, where the party had to face defeat in the last assembly elections. The party has set a target of increasing the number of votes in each assembly constituency by around 27,000 votes. The main focus of the party is to connect the Dalit community with it.
Akhilesh is constantly raising the issues of Dalits
Akhilesh Yadav is constantly raising issues related to Dalits and the Constitution. Recently, he claimed that 151 statues of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar have been demolished in 72 districts of Uttar Pradesh during the tenure of the BJP government. The Samajwadi Party’s strategy also includes strengthening the party’s organisation among the Dalit community. According to sources, the Samajwadi Party wants to take advantage of BSP chief Mayawati’s being embroiled in family disputes. Akhilesh Yadav has already worn a blue scarf and has changed the dress of the SP Chhatra Sabha to blue.
Dalits will not vote for SP: Brajesh Pathak
On the other hand, the BJP is also looking for a counter to Akhilesh Yadav’s move. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak says that even if Akhilesh Yadav makes his entire body blue, the Dalit community will not vote for the Samajwadi Party. The BJP is trying to compensate for the loss of the Dalit vote bank in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Yogi government has released a budget of Rs 400 crore for the beautification and protection of statues, memorials and parks of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and other Dalit great men. Under this, the work of installing boundary walls and grills around about 10 monuments and statues in every assembly will be done.
Did the BSP vote shift to the BJP?
In fact, BSP chief Mayawati has been considered to be the biggest leader of Dalits. Mayawati was the Chief Minister of UP four times. Mayawati formed a majority government in 2017, but from 2014 onwards, the largely Dalit vote shifted from Mayawati’s BSP to BJP. According to a survey, in 2024, Mayawati got 44 percent of the Jatav, the India alliance got 25 percent and the NDA got 24 percent of the votes. In the non-Jatav vote, the India alliance got 56 per cent, the NDA got 29 per cent and the BSP got only 15 per cent. Now Akhilesh Yadav is trying to increase his Dalit vote and the BJP is trying to compensate for the loss of the Dalit vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
