BY MOHAMMAD TARIQUE SALEEM
“We have taken a pledge for a new tradition of equality and for a grand victory of our PDA,” former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said during his PDA Bus Yatra in Rae Bareli on September 24, launching a major phase of the party’s political outreach ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Yadav’s statement came as he travelled on a specially designed bus, presented as the PDA Rath, which began its journey near the Churua toll plaza in the Bachhrawan area of Rae Bareli. From there, the campaign moved towards Rae Bareli city, where Yadav addressed party workers and supporters.
The journey was organised as part of the Samajwadi Party’s preparations for the next Assembly election. The specially prepared campaign bus carries photographs of Dr B R Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia, Janeshwar Mishra, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Beni Prasad Verma, reflecting the political and social figures whom the Samajwadi Party associates with its ideological and organisational legacy. Messages linked to the party’s PDA campaign were also displayed prominently on the vehicle. The PDA formulation, which stands for Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak, or backward classes, Dalits and minorities, has become a central feature of the Samajwadi Party’s political strategy under Yadav.
Through the campaign, the party has sought to bring questions of social representation, equality, reservation and social justice into the centre of its political discourse. The Rae Bareli launch also carried significance because of the district’s political importance. Rae Bareli is represented in the Lok Sabha by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while the Samajwadi Party and Congress have remained allies in Uttar Pradesh following their joint contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Yadav has indicated that the alliance will continue, while discussions over the distribution of Assembly constituencies are expected to focus on individual seat-level considerations.
During his address, Yadav sought to expand the political meaning of the PDA beyond its three principal components. He referred to different social and religious communities while stressing the need for equal representation and respect. He has also described the PDA as a broader platform for people who support social justice and equality. The former chief minister linked these issues with the Constitution, democracy and reservation. Speaking about equality, he argued that social and economic disparities must be addressed while framing laws and public policies. His remarks reflected the Samajwadi Party’s stated emphasis on representation of backward classes, Dalits, minorities and other socially disadvantaged sections.
The PDA campaign is also expected to focus on employment, education and healthcare. Yadav has raised the issue of government recruitment and employment opportunities for young people, besides criticising the state government over what he describes as administrative policies affecting poorer and marginalised sections. The Samajwadi Party has also spoken about strengthening government schools and healthcare services. Yadav’s political messaging during the bus journey was accompanied by criticism of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.
Among the issues he has raised are the use of bulldozers in administrative action, reservation, unemployment and the functioning of government institutions. These are political allegations and positions advanced by Yadav and the Samajwadi Party. The PDA Rath Yatra provides the Samajwadi Party with a vehicle for direct contact with voters and party workers across Uttar Pradesh. Its imagery combines the party’s historical figures with its current political slogan, placing social justice and representation at the heart of the campaign. The September 24 launch in Rae Bareli thus marked the beginning of another phase of the Samajwadi Party’s preparations for the 2027 Assembly election.
As the political contest gradually takes shape, issues of social representation, equality, reservation, employment, education, healthcare and alliances are likely to remain important elements of the debate in Uttar Pradesh. For Akhilesh Yadav, the message from the PDA Rath was direct: the Samajwadi Party intends to take its campaign beyond party offices and public meetings and carry its political narrative directly to the people. His pledge of “a new tradition of equality” and a “grand victory” of the PDA has become a prominent theme of the party’s latest outreach campaign.
