SP to hold PDA Diwas on Kanshi Ram anniv

Lucknow: With an eye on bahujan populace of the state, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has directed party functionaries to celebrate the birth anniversary of ‘Bahujan Nayak Manyawar' and BSP founder Kanshi Ram as ‘Bahujan Samaj Diwas' or PDA Diwas across UP on March 15.This is not the first time that SP will be celebrating Kashi Ram's birth anniversary in a grand manner. In 2025, SP had celebrated the anniversary at district headquarters in a grand style on Akhilesh's initiative while a special event was held at the party headquarters in Lucknow where floral tributes were paid to Kanshi Ram by the top leadership.
In April 2023, Akhilesh had unveiled the statue of Kashi Ram in Rae Bareli to mark the occasion. The event was organised by the then SP national general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya who was once a confidante of BSP chief Mayawati. At that time political commentators had branded the move as an attempt to reach out to Dalits ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It's not only about Kanshi Ram alone. SP has been celebrating the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar on April 14 every year. The party functionaries are sent letters every year in advance to make sure that the event is celebrated at district headquarters in a big way.SP strategists say celebrating Kanshi Ram's birth anniversary as Bahujan Samaj Diwas or the PDA Diwas is same since PDA includes Bahujan Samaj too. Akhilesh had coined ‘PDA' ahead of the 2024 LS polls to reach out to Pichhde (backwards), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities) and it paid rich political dividends. Since then PDA has become SP's catch phrase.In his circular to party functionaries this year, Akhilesh recalled how Kanshi Ram led a national campaign in support of the Mandal Commission report.In the political circles the move is being seen as an attempt to reach out to the Dalit voters ahead of the UP elections. Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday described Kanshi Ram as a ‘PDA Mahapurush' and said that defeating the BJP in UP was essential to "save the state". Addressing party workers at the SP headquarters, Akhilesh said BJP govt "ruined Uttar Pradesh" and pushed corruption, crime, and commission-taking to their peak. "BJP has become a symbol of social injustice and hatred. Every section of society is being insulted under it," he said.Raising concerns over the SIR of electoral rolls, he alleged large-scale irregularities. He claimed that notices were being sent to lakhs of voters across districts to "cut votes of PDA communities" and weaken democracy. "BJP's intent is to deprive people of their voting rights. SP workers must ensure that every eligible voter is included in the electoral rolls," he said.