LUCKNOW: After failing to repeat the Lok Sabha election performance in the recent bypoll to 10 assembly seats necessitated by the election of sitting MLAs to the lower house of Parliament in 2024, the Samajwadi Party (SP), has unveiled its ‘2027 formula.’
The formula eyes to aid the 2027 UP assembly elections.
It is a revamped strategy aimed at strengthening the party’s position by roping in former bureaucrats from backward, Dalit, and minority communities into its fold to meet its Picchda-Dalit- Alpasankhyak (PDA) narrative.
Moreover, the party has also decided to make early announcements of the candidates so that they could nurture their seats well in advance, reinforce booth-level networks, and use social media as a tool to crowdsource key electoral issues directly from the people.
The fresh formula was revealed in a meeting of the party while evaluating the reasons party’s poor performance in the bypolls including the Milkipur constituency.
The BJP won the Milkipur seat with a massive margin of over 61,000 votes defeating the SP's Ajit Prasad.
BJP candidate Chandrabhanu Paswan maintained a steady lead since the initial rounds of counting and it gradually widened with the progression of rounds.
The political experts attributed the BJP win to the sentiment of repentance among the voters for sending Awadhesh Prasad to Lok Sabha from Faizabad defeating BJP’s Lallu Singh in the 2024 general elections.
The political pundits feel that the result of Milkipur was the reflection of the victory of Hindutva and the development formula over SP’s Picchda-Dalit-Alpasankhyak (PDA) strategy, which failed to resonate with the masses, this time.
In all, of the 10 bypoll seats, SP could hardly retain Karhal, (vacated by Akhilesh Yadav) and Sisamau in Kanpur seats.
Rest eight were won by the BJP which managed to wrest the SP strongholds of Katehari in Ambedkarngar and Kundarki in Moradabad.
In the meeting to review the party’s performance, SP identified relatively a weaker booth-level organisation compared to the BJP.
“Having acknowledged our weakness, we are, now, focusing on strengthening our presence in every booth," said an SP insider.
Unlike previous elections, the party now plans to declare candidates nearly 18 months ahead of the assembly elections to give candidates sufficient time to nurture their respective constituencies.
District party presidents and candidates will be entrusted with setting up booth-level teams and mobilizing support in their constituencies.
The SP is also looking to rope in former bureaucrats, including former IAS, IPS, and Election Commission officials.
Recently, Akhilesh Yadav held discussions with former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, signalling SP’s intent to involve experts in shaping its election strategy.
More retired officers are expected to join the advisory panel to help SP counter BJP’s well-structured electoral machinery. The party contemplates to seek public opinion on various issues to be included in its manifesto so that it could resonate with the voters.
The party believes that grassroots concerns should shape its electoral agenda.
Party insiders said in the 2027 assembly elections, the party intended to highlight alleged atrocities against backward classes, Dalits, and minorities under the BJP rule.
The party has the confidence that it can capitalise on PDA, which played a crucial role in the 2024 elections and stopped the BJP’s return.
The party aims to focus on farmers’ distress, labour rights, and youth employment as central themes of its campaign.
It plans to counter BJP’s economic policies by proposing welfare-oriented solutions.
SP is particularly wary of smaller parties like AIMIM and Azad Samaj Party of Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad as they tend to split anti-BJP votes.
The party is assigning regional Muslim and Dalit leaders the task of countering these parties ensuring that votes remain consolidated in SP’s favour.
With Akhilesh Yadav set to personally oversee preparations, the party hopes to avoid past mistakes and present a formidable challenge in the upcoming elections.