Xpress News24
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav formally set the tone for his 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election campaign from Raebareli, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency, as he launched his ‘PDA Rath Yatra’. While signalling that the SP and Congress could continue their alliance in the next Assembly polls, Yadav also made it clear that seat-sharing would not be decided simply on the basis of past claims or numbers.
Addressing a public meeting in Raebareli, Yadav said the alliance would bring its own challenges and that the ability to win a seat would be the key consideration. “It will not be about the number of seats. The seat that can be won should be contested. Whoever wins, gets the seat,” he said, outlining his position on the seat-sharing formula.
The remarks come as the SP and Congress prepare for a potentially difficult round of negotiations ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh election. The two parties fought the 2024 Lok Sabha election together and performed strongly in the state. Yadav referred to that performance while setting out his political objective for the Assembly election — defeating the BJP and ending its hold on the state government.
Raebareli itself became part of the political conversation during the rally. SP MLA Shyam Sunder Bharti argued that the district should not automatically be viewed as a Congress stronghold. He pointed to the 2022 Assembly election, when the SP won four of Raebareli’s six Assembly seats. On the remaining two seats, he claimed, the party lost by narrow margins.
The message from the SP camp was therefore broader than a seat-sharing claim. The party is seeking to establish that it has an organisational and electoral base across the district, including areas traditionally associated with the Congress.
Yadav also expanded his political definition of the PDA — the alliance of backward classes, Dalits and minorities that has been central to his electoral messaging. At Raebareli, he said the “A” in the formulation should not be understood only in terms of religious minorities. He also linked it to “aadhi abaadi”, referring to women, and spoke about bringing more extremely backward and disadvantaged communities into the political framework.
He referred to issues involving the Vishwakarma and Bind communities and promised justice and representation for communities including Vishwakarma, Lodh and Pasi if the SP returns to power.
The SP chief also attacked the BJP government over what he described as “bulldozer politics”, alleging selective use of administration against PDA communities. These were political allegations made by Yadav at the rally; the government’s response to the specific claims was not included in the material available for this report.
The Election Commission also came under attack. Yadav alleged that PDA votes were “stolen” during the 2022 Assembly election and claimed that, without this alleged manipulation, the SP would have formed a majority government. The allegation was made without fresh evidence being cited in the remarks provided.
On the Uniform Civil Code, Yadav questioned the emphasis on a common law without first addressing inequalities in society. He argued that social and economic equality should precede such legal changes and linked the PDA campaign to the protection of the Constitution, democracy and reservation.
He also criticised the state government over demolition of religious structures in Kashi and Saharanpur, alleging that such actions were part of a polarisation strategy. Yadav referred to the September 17 student dispute in Raebareli as another example of what he called administrative misuse.
Education was another issue raised during the rally. Yadav said that if the SP forms the government in 2027, all closed government primary schools would be reopened.
With the PDA Rath Yatra, the SP is now taking its 2027 campaign message directly to voters. The immediate political test, however, will also involve negotiations with the Congress over how the two parties divide Assembly constituencies — an issue on which Yadav’s latest remarks suggest that electoral winnability, rather than fixed seat quotas, will be central to the SP’s position.
