Aiming to secure Dalit support ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party is preparing to allocate 14 general seats to Scheduled Caste nominees. This would raise the total number of reserved-category candidates to at least 100, covering the 84 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes. The move seeks to strengthen the party’s outreach to backward classes, Dalits and minorities.
Party sources indicated that placing Dalit aspirants in unreserved constituencies is intended to connect with voters whose traditional support for the Bahujan Samaj Party has declined. The decision also aims to project the Samajwadi Party as willing to offer Scheduled Castes more opportunities than the constitutionally reserved seats alone.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the party had already fielded two Dalit candidates on general seats, winning one and narrowly losing the other. Leaders believe repeating the approach will reinforce a broader message that the party is moving beyond its earlier image.
The effort forms part of wider attempts by several parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, to attract Dalit voters, who constitute roughly 21 percent of the state’s population. Recent election results have shown a steady drop in support for the Bahujan Samaj Party.
