How Dalit outreach is peaking in Uttar Pradesh in run-up to 2027 polls

As Uttar Pradesh moves closer to next year’s assembly polls, the politics of symbolism is getting harder to miss. Statues, memorials and historical figures are once again at the heart of the messaging, and it’s not a one-party phenomenon.

The ruling BJP is taking the lead. The Yogi Adityanath administration has rolled out a Rs 403 crore scheme to upgrade and maintain statues of B.R. Ambedkar and other social justice icons, such as Sant Ravidas, Sant Kabirdas, Jyotiba Phule and Maharishi Valmiki, across the state’s 403 assembly constituencies.

The plan goes beyond routine upkeep and focuses on making these sites more attractive. Accordingly, funds are being allocated for lighting, landscaping, boundary walls and protective structures. Each constituency is expected to get funds for multiple statues, but there will be a cap on spending per site.

While officials say the aim is to honour social reformists and improving public spaces around their memorials, the timing has a clear electoral context. Since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when its tally in Uttar Pradesh fell by almost half to 33 seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Congress alliance made significant gains, the BJP has been looking to rebuild its social coalition in the state.

That electoral shift in 2024 was visible even within reserved constituencies. Of the 17 Scheduled Caste seats, the BJP won eight while the SP won seven and the Congress one seat. The result suggested that the Dalit vote, once seen as tightly aligned, was now more open and contested. For the BJP, reinforcing its outreach within these communities has become a priority.

Alongside the memorial upgrade, chief minister Adityanath has spoken about installing protective canopies over the statues of Ambedkar and other icons. The effort is seen as one to project the BJP as a party that cherishes the legacy of social justice leaders. In political terms, it is a way of countering the SP’s Pichada, Dalit, Alpasankhyak (PDA) pitch, which seeks to consolidate the backward classes, Dalits and minorities into a single bloc.

The Opposition is responding with its own push. Consider SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s moves. At his ancestral home in Etawah, a large temple complex is coming up, blending personal legacy with a broader cultural signal. For a leader often framed through a narrow political lens, it all appears designed to widen that perception.

In western Uttar Pradesh, his outreach has taken another form. At a rally in Dadri, a Gurjar-dominated area, Akhilesh announced that a statue of the 9th century king Mihir Bhoj would be installed in Lucknow. The choice seemed well crafted as Bhoj is revered by both Gurjars and Rajputs. The announcement seemed to fit into a larger effort by the SP to expand its social base.

All this symbolism is also tied to a deeper churn around the Dalit vote. Scheduled Castes make up roughly 21 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s 243 million population and are spread widely across communities such as the Jatavs, Pasis and Valmikis. For decades, this base was firmly anchored with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), but that grip has loosened in recent years. The BSP drew a blank in the parliamentary elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2024. Dalit voters have also opened up to newer faces outside the BSP, such as Chandrashekhar Azad, the Lok Sabha MP from Nagina.

The legacy of Kanshi Ram too is acquiring newer political meaning. The late BSP founder, who reshaped Dalit politics in north India, is being invoked by several parties. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has described Kanshi Ram as a figure who transformed political representation for the marginalised communities. He wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram.

Akhilesh too has been invoking Kanshi Ram’s legacy while recalling his party’s past alliances with the BSP. While this seeks to position the SP within that broader history of social justice politics, the party has also sharpened its PDA narrative, placing Dalits at the centre of its electoral strategy.

The Dalit push from political opponents has drawn a sharp response from BSP chief Mayawati. She accused the SP and Congress of trying to appropriate Kanshi Ram for electoral gains, warning Dalit voters against such ‘opportunistic’ politics. Her argument rests on the familiar claim that the BSP alone represents the interests of Bahujan Samaj.

As Dalit outreach peaks in Uttar Pradesh a year before a decisive election, no party can claim exclusive control over this vote base. Instead, it has become the site of active competition, wherein both policy and symbolism are being used to breach walls and build connections.

Subscribe to India Today Magazine