Akhilesh Yadav reinterprets PDA to include Pandits as the SP steps up its Brahmin outreach.
SP is targeting additional Brahmin support through booth-level mobilisation and electoral outreach.
Mata Prasad Pandey and Pawan Pandey feature prominently in the party’s Brahmin representation strategy.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) has stepped up its outreach to Brahmins ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with party president Akhilesh Yadav seeking to bring the community into its PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) framework. The move reflects the party’s attempt to widen its social coalition beyond its traditional support base.
The SP’s renewed effort follows its performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when it won 37 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 seats. Having consolidated support among backward classes, Dalits and minorities, the party is now looking to attract sections of the upper castes, particularly Brahmins.
From Pichhda To Pandit
The PDA formula was popularised by Yadav ahead of the 2024 general elections. Originally referring to backward classes, Dalits and minorities, the acronym was subsequently expanded to include other sections, including women.
On August 5, 2026, at a Prabuddh Sammelan organised at the SP headquarters in Lucknow to mark the birth anniversary of party ideologue Janeshwar Mishra, Yadav gave the acronym another interpretation, saying that the ‘P’ also stood for Pandit.
Yadav accused the BJP government of targeting Brahmins and promised that an SP government would ensure adequate representation and respect for the community. He cited the 2020 encounter of Vikas Dubey and the controversy involving Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand to argue that Brahmin self-respect had been undermined. These were allegations made by the SP chief.
The gathering featured slogans such as “Ganga Maiya Ki Jai” and “Parshuram Bhagwan Ki Jai”. Ballia MP Sanatan Pandey, the party’s only Brahmin Lok Sabha member, helped coordinate the mobilisation.
The Electoral Arithmetic
The outreach also has an electoral basis. An analysis published by Hindustan Times noted that the SP's share of Brahmin votes increased from 3% in 2002 to 10% in 2007 and 19% in 2012. It subsequently declined to 7% in 2017 and 6% in 2022.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 19% of Brahmins and 16% of upper-caste voters backed the SP-Congress alliance, according to the analysis.
The party is also focusing on booth-level mobilisation, targeting an additional 27,000 votes in each Assembly constituency, or around 400 votes per booth, from different caste groups, particularly Brahmins.
Representation And Political Messaging
The SP has also sought to underline Brahmin representation within its organisation. Mata Prasad Pandey, a seven-time MLA and former Assembly Speaker, has been the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly since July 2024.
The party has also announced former MLA Pawan Pandey as its candidate from Ayodhya for the 2027 Assembly elections. Yadav made the announcement at the August 5 Brahmin conference, making it the party’s first candidate announcement for the next polls.
