UP Parties Intensify Dalit Outreach Amid BJP's Social Coalition Challenges Ahead of Elections

Ahead of Uttar Pradesh's Assembly elections, political parties are intensifying efforts to engage Scheduled Castes (SC), who make up about 21% of the electorate. The Samajwadi Party (SP) is promoting a broader PDA alliance (Pichhda, Dalit, and minorities) around Kanshi Ram's birth anniversary, aiming to consolidate Dalit and OBC votes. Meanwhile, the BJP faces challenges within its social coalition, including upper-caste discontent over recent education regulations and internal factionalism, complicating its Hindu consolidation strategy amid SP's growing PDA outreach.