Caste Politics in Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh, also called the laboratory of Indian politics, the electoral wind flows through ethnic equations. This state not only handles the key to the power of Delhi, but the political consciousness in every street and village here is deeply associated with ethnic identity. Any party, whether it is ruling or opposition, cannot be decisive until it understands the ethnic equations and does not practice them correctly.
OBCs are the largest part in the social structure of Uttar Pradesh – about half in number. This class has many castes like Yadav, Kurmi, Maurya, Shakya, Lodh, Kashyap, Nishad, Rajbhar, whose political behavior is different. The number of Yadavs is considered to be around six percent, but due to organization and leadership, they have a lot of influence across the state. This class is the backbone of the Samajwadi Party, and Akhilesh Yadav has only tried to make it wide by giving it out from the image of the Yadavs’ party by giving it the slogan of backward, Dalit and minority – i.e. PDA.
This slogan is an attempt to form a social alliance parallel to BJP’s Hindutva-based politics in a way. Akhilesh wants the castes that were kept out of power, they should come on a platform. The falling grip of BSP for Dalits and political discomfort of minorities support this experiment. But the challenge is whether the non-death OBC under the leadership of Yadavs, Dalits without Jatavs and minority without Congress will be mobilized? The use of PDA politics was seen on the ground in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but it needs more inclusion to convert to decisive success.
Brahmins are about twelve percent in Uttar Pradesh. This class has traditionally been with the BJP, but whenever the BJP has ignored this class, the voice of dissatisfaction has become vocal for it. In 2007, Mayawati gained power through the Brahmin-Dalit alliance, which states that this class discovers her honor in the equation of power. Thakur is about six percent of the Rajput community and due to a leader like Yogi Adityanath, his stake in BJP has become decisive. However, it is also true that the domination of Thakur leadership has increased the feeling of discomfort among other castes.
Dalit – especially Jatav – Bahujan Samaj Party has been the basis, but in the last few years these votes have started to disintegrate. The BJP has succeeded in helping non-Jatav Dalits under ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, while the Samajwadi Party has tried to connect Dalits in a new way through PDA. But the truth is that Jatav voters have now become alert about their representation as well as their representation of ideological and social identity.
Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, whose population is about nineteen percent, stayed with the Congress and then the Samajwadi Party for a long time. This community now behaves politically in the form of ‘Tactical Voting’. That is, the party which is seen in the position of defeating the BJP, the majority of Muslims bow down to the same. This is the reason that the entry of Muslim parties like Owaisi uncomfortable the socialist strategy, and the minority distance from the Congress also becomes an opportunity for the SP.
Castes like Nishad, Rajbhar, Mallah, Kushwaha, Patel are decisive in Purvanchal. These castes traditionally come to OBC but have mobilized against the domination of the Yadavas. The BJP understood this gap and joined them with it by making allies like Nishad Party and Subhaspa. A major reason for the success of the BJP in this region is that it gave these castes a share in power and organization. The same formula BJP is now trying to adopt with Jats and other OBC sections in West Uttar Pradesh.
Castes like Kayastha, Baniya, Punjabi, Bhumihar are decisive on urban seats. This class votes on economic issues, law and order and development questions and remains a major supporter of the BJP’s urban agenda. However, the presence of parties like Congress and Aam Aadmi Party may also change the equation in some seats, especially when the issue becomes economic inequality or local corruption.
In Uttar Pradesh, not only the calculations of castes, but their political consciousness, organization, leadership and dedication decides who will go. This is the reason that there is a social alliance like PDA or Hindutva based inclusion – both of them need not only slogans, but also solid programs, representation and dialogue.
The 2027 elections will no longer be mathematics to add caste, but it will have to be seen who can make dialogue, lead and earn faith. As long as politics is only identity based, ethnic balance will be mandatory to get power. But future politics is standing at the point where inclusion and dialogue, along with representation, will be the real key to power.
