Jayant Vs Akhilesh over Jat
The community, accounting for around 3-4% of the electorate in a host of west UP districts, is said to have been swinging its poll preference based on the winnability factor.
RLD sources said winning over Brahmins could help the party expand beyond its traditional Jat support base while strengthening its appeal among upper-caste voters in the politically crucial western UP belt. Lucknow: After placing the Jat and Gurjar communities at the heart of its electoral strategy, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal has now decided to turn its focus on Brahmins to broaden its social coalition ahead of UP Assembly elections due early next year. The Jayant Chaudhary-led outfit plans to launch a focused outreach campaign targeting Brahmins, a politically influential community which is widely seen as a key factor in shaping electoral outcomes across the region.
Since joining hands with the BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party has sought to expand its footprint beyond Jat voters, while reaching out to Gurjars, non-Jat OBCs and other significant caste groups.
Party sources said Jayant has tasked working state president Anupam Mishra to spearhead a series of “Bauddhik Sammellans” across districts like Shamli, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Noida and Bijnor from the first week of Sept. When contacted, Mishra, also a Brahmin, said the party aims to reach out to all castes including the upper caste as part of preparations for next year’s elections. Principal opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has in recent months intensified efforts to court the community, even remarking that the “P” in the party’s political narrative of PDA (Piccha, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) also stood for “Pandit”.
Similar conventions are expected to follow in eastern UP districts including Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Deoria and Prayagraj, where Brahmins remain a significant electoral presence.
The statement was widely interpreted as a signal that SP was seeking to repair its historically limited connection with upper-caste voters. A wider blueprint of the campaign is expected to be drawn at the state-level convention of the party scheduled in Lucknow on Sunday.