On August 5, Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav declared that the 'P' in 'PDA' stands for 'Pandits'. Akhilesh coined the term 'PDA' during the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Back then, he said that 'P' stood for 'Picchda', meaning backwards. However, as political parties scramble to prepare for the Assembly polls slated to be held in February or March next year, the 'P' in 'PDA' has changed from 'Picchda' to 'Pandits'.
"People keep talking about PDA and inventing new definitions of it. Ever since they lost to PDA, they have been trying to redefine it. But they have forgotten that the 'PD' in PDA also stands for Pandit. The more they inflict pain (peeda), the stronger PDA will become," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said at a Brahmin Sammelan organised at the Samajwadi Party's headquarters in Lucknow.
At the same event, Akhilesh accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of targeting the Brahmin community in Uttar Pradesh. He even targeted the BJP for mishandling the Maha Kumbh and alleged that even a Shankaracharya (Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati) was prevented from taking a holy dip, as he promised to uplift the community and provide jobs to youth if his party comes to power.
"They were already targeting our workers and us. Now they have also started targeting the Brahmin community. They are after the 'P' of PDA as well," Akhilesh had said. "If a new India is being built today, then when a Samajwadi government comes to power, we will build a new Uttar Pradesh."
An out-of-place move or a calculative step?
It was not as though Akhilesh replacing the 'P' in 'PDA' from 'Pichhda' to 'Pandits' was an out-of-place move; rather, it was a calculated political step. In Uttar Pradesh's electoral politics, there is a longstanding belief that Brahmins can play a decisive role in determining which party forms the government. And, to a considerable extent, the electoral trends in subsequent Assembly elections have borne this out. Political pundits estimate that the community can influence the results in over 115 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.
Back in 2007, when the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) swept to power in Uttar Pradesh, winning 206 out of the 403 seats, Mayawati's party had managed to make an important, though limited, breakthrough among Brahmins. According to a Lokniti-CSDS survey, the BSP secured 16 per cent of the Brahmin vote.
Brahmins have traditionally been regarded as a core support base of the BJP, and 44 per cent of them still voted for the saffron party in 2007. But thanks to Mayawati's broader social engineering strategy, a significant number of Brahmin voters shifted their allegiance to the BSP, contributing to its emphatic victory.
How did the Brahmins vote in subsequent elections?
The 2012 Uttar Pradesh elections saw the Samajwadi Party oust BSP out of power, winning 224 seats on its own. Back then, the party had managed to secure 19 per cent of Brahmin votes, as per the Lokniti-CSDS survey. This number was huge, considering it had secured only 10 per cent of the community's vote in the previous elections. The BJP, on the other hand, had secured 38 per cent Brahmin votes, the BSP 19 per cent and the Congress 13 per cent. Political analysts say the Brahmin votes had split in the 2012 elections.
However, the 2017 Assembly polls were completely different. Banking on the Modi wave, the BJP had managed to win over 300 seats on its own. The election further saw a consolidation of Brahmin votes, with the BJP securing around 83 per cent of their votes, the Lokniti-CSDS survey said. The data also stated that the Samajwadi Party secured 7 per cent Brahmin votes, the BSP 2 per cent, and the Congress just 1 per cent.
The 2022 Assembly elections saw a further consolidation of Brahmins in BJP's favour, with the party securing 89 per cent of their votes. The Samajwadi Party had secured just 6 per cent of the votes, while the Congress managed to receive 1 per cent of the votes, as per a Lokniti-CSDS survey.
Growing Brahmin discontent with BJP?
The opposition is trying to create a notion in Uttar Pradesh that people following a 10-year anti-incumbency against the BJP are not happy with the state government. Their leaders claim the Brahmins are particularly displeased with the BJP and alleged that Thakurs or Rajputs are being favoured for government positions across the state.
Akhilesh's party is trying to utilise the alleged growing discontent of Brahmins with the BJP in its favour. However, it is not just that the Samajwadi Party is looking to woo the community. In fact, Mayawati's BSP has also reached out to them. For this, the party has appointed Satish Chandra Mishra, a Brahmin face, to lead its legal and media teams and the Election Commission-related matters.
The BSP is aiming to return to power with the same Brahmin-Dalit alliance formula that had helped her become the chief minister in 2007.
"Since the BSP began nominating candidates from all sections of society - especially the Brahmin community - in a manner aligned with preparations to form a full-majority BSP government like in 2007, it is evident that discussions and concerns have arisen among opposition parties regarding this. The people of the 'Bahujan Samaj' need to remain constantly vigilant and alert against their tactics," she said in a post on X in August.
Even the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a party that solely focuses on Muslim votes, is also targeting the Brahmins, with the party's president Asaduddin Owaisi recently saying that the BJP "only attacks" the Muslims and the Brahmins.
Can the Opposition succeed in wooing Brahmins?
For now, it is correct to say that a section of Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh are not impressed with the BJP's handling of the situation in many cases. However, whether they will vote for any other party is still a subject that needs to be studied. Many Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh might not support the Samajwadi Party and have accused it of minority appeasement. Thus, it is difficult to say if they would vote for it in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Coming to the BJP, the party has already begun reaching out to the Brahmins. It has appointed Nagendra Nath Tripathi, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue, as its national organiser for senior workers' outreach. Tripathi previously served as BJP's zonal general secretary for Bihar and Jharkhand, and he is considered a master strategist at the grassroots level. His appointment is a clear signal that the BJP is in no mood to let go of its Brahmin vote bank that had helped it secure power in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections.
Assembly elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh in February or March next year.
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