Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday sharpened the Samajwadi Party‘s Dalit outreach ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Calling for the BJP‘s ouster, he described Dalits as ‘Damdar’ (assertive).Addressing a Dalit Sammelan in Agra, the SP chief said the community would play a decisive role in defeating the ruling party.According to PTI, Akhilesh gave a new meaning to the ‘D’ in his party’s PDA formulation, saying it now stood for ‘Damdar Dalit’.“Looking at the support of the Dalit community, I can say that the ‘D’ in our ‘PDA’ has now become ‘Damdar Dalit’,” he said. He described the gathering as the beginning of a broader movement for the upliftment of marginalised communities.PDA stands for ‘Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak’, referring to backward classes, Dalits and minorities. Akhilesh has positioned the formulation as the Samajwadi Party’s social and electoral coalition against the BJP.Taking aim at the BJP, Akhilesh said, “This time, the Dalit community will defeat the BJP; wipe them out for good.”He also warned that the ruling party would lose its political foothold in Agra, which he described as a stronghold the BJP had long considered secure.Attacking the government over alleged atrocities against Dalits, Akhilesh claimed that Uttar Pradesh had recorded the highest number of such cases, citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.He further alleged that around 200 statues of Dr BR Ambedkar had been vandalised in the state over the past decade, without action against those responsible.“Those who vandalise Dr Ambedkar’s statues do not merely attack the sculpture. They attack the Constitution held in Babasaheb’s hand,” he said.“If there is a Constitution, there is dignity. If there is a Constitution, there are rights. If there is a Constitution, there is democracy,” Akhilesh added, accusing the BJP of following “Man Vidhan” instead of the Constitution.He also accused the BJP government of failing Dalit and backward-class students in higher education institutions and alleged that 26,000 primary schools attended by children from poor and Dalit families had been shut down.On employment and recruitment, Akhilesh alleged that question papers of more than 20 public examinations had been leaked in Uttar Pradesh, affecting young people’s job prospects and reservation opportunities.Referring to the ongoing assistant teachers’ recruitment protests over reservation, he promised that an SP government would ensure candidates received their due.“This time, the lathi will lose and the laptop will win. The youth want to study and progress, but attempts are being made to intimidate them,” he said, adding that the 2027 assembly elections would be a contest between five per cent and 95 per cent of the population.
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Akhilesh also criticised the BJP over its handling of government hospitals, alleged crimes against women and the condition of public education, promising that an SP government would ensure social justice, strengthen law and order and protect the rights of marginalised communities.
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