To take on the Hindutva agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party will start the process of announcing the names of candidates for important parliamentary constituencies from Navratri slated to begin from October 15.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav is also likely to embark on a cycle yatra from next month. However, the proposal is at a preliminary stage and the issue is yet to be worked out. SP sources said that the purpose of both the issues was to ascertain the mood of the electorate and test the electoral waters in the state several months before the elections.
“The SP has formulated the strategy to announce the tickets of important constituencies during Navratri to give a clear message that it is not opposed to ancient Indian traditions and Sanatan dharma. The sustained campaign by SP MLA Swami Prasad Maurya against Ramcharitmanas and Hindu dharma has prompted the party leadership to revise the strategy,” a Samajwadi Party leader said.
“The names of the candidates to be announced could also be changed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections if the situation demands,” the SP leader added.
The party had kicked off the campaign to fight Hindutva during the cadre training camp held at pilgrimage town Naimisharanya, Sitapur, in June last. SP sources said that by announcing the candidates from Navratri, Akhilesh Yadav intends to give a clear message to INDIA bloc that the SP would field its candidates on 60 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Samajwadi party is confident that its PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) electoral formula worked well in the recent by-elections in the Ghosi assembly constituency in September. SP candidate Sudhakar Singh won by defeating BJP candidate Dara Singh Chauhan with a huge margin.
The Samajwadi Party, known for MY (Muslim-Yadav) support, is now engaged in expanding its base by attracting non-Yadav OBCs and Dalits. While Muslims and Yadavs account for nearly 32% of the state’s population, the ‘PDA’ population is close to 80%. For decades, the SP has been a staunch opponent of the women’s reservation without 33% quota within quota for the SCs and OBCs.
In an oblique reference to the Samajwadi Party, PM Narendra Modi had said: “Those who opposed the women’s reservation bill for decades are now trembling...because of the unity of mothers and sisters.”
“The Samajwadi Party was never opposed to women reservation. We want social justice within gender justice. And, we will continue demanding reservations for the ‘PDA’ women. Our demand for caste census is to ascertain the numerical strength of various castes, so that benefits could be given according to their share of the population,” Juhie Singh, president of SP Rashtriya Mahila Sabha, said.