U.P. Opposition pushes social justice, secularism pitch through rallies, conferences

With less than a year left for the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, the main opposition parties in the State, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, started meetings and rallies centred on ‘Samanta’ (equality), ‘bhaichara’ (brotherhood) and ‘Sadhbhavna’ (harmony) planks by naming their rallies and meetings on these respective themes.

While the SP held a rally named ‘Samajwadi Samanta Bhaichara Rally’, in Dadri, Western U.P, on Sunday (March 29, 2026), aiming to bridge the social fault lines, the Congress is holding ‘Sadhbhavna Baithak’ (harmony meetings) and ‘Samvidhan Samvad’ (constitution conference) across the State, pushing for communal harmony and brotherhood.

The broader objective, the party leaders said, as the names of meetings suggest, is to foster a greater unity among Backwards, Dalit and Minority communities under a social justice and secular umbrella. 

Mr. Yadav, in his speech at Dadri, said the PDA communities would form the next government in Uttar Pradesh giving a push for social justice, adding the rightful claim for dignity, and honour is paramount. PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak) acronym for Backwards, Dalit and Minority is a repeated plank idea of Akhilesh Yadav, who is aiming to form a social coalition of these groups. 

“Social justice, secularism and equality are the pillars on which the socialist movement of the Samajwadi Party is based upon, we attempted in full capacity to implement these ideas when in government, hence it is natural that our campaign in the run-up to Assembly polls will be centered on these ideas, we want to create a better U.P. based on these pillars,” said Ram Pratap Singh, the SP spokesperson.

“The themes of ‘Samanta’, ‘Bhaichara’, and ‘Sadbhavna’ reflect widely accepted constitutional values of equality, fraternity, and harmony. Framing rallies around these ideas indicates an attempt to foreground social justice and inclusive coexistence. It suggests an effort to engage diverse social groups, particularly those historically associated with social justice movements under a shared, secular, and constitutional framework rather than through narrow or divisive appeals,” said Nasser Salim, the SP spokesperson.

Similarly, the Congress held ‘Sadhbhavna Baithak’ (harmony meeting) in which State president Ajay Rai was also present in Lucknow last week, pushing the cause of social harmony and mutual brotherhood, alleging that the present government destroyed the unity of the society by creating Hindu-Muslim division and stressing the need for unity among both communities.

Similarly, in the past week, the grand-old-party organised meetings titled ‘Samvidhan Samvad aur Karykarta Samman sammelan’ (Constitution conference and Workers’ Honour Conference) in which leaders pushed that protection of the Constitution is paramount and Dalits and other oppressed sections are being punished by the ruling regime. Top state leaders, including Mr. Rai, were present in the meeting held in Barabanki.

“The fact is the BJP’s aim is to change the constitution, it was reflected in their 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, they want the rule of Manusmriti, hence we are sensitising and bringing the real motive of the BJP in front of the public, similarly it is equally true that Muslims have been at the receiving end of the BJP government’s machinery of hate, the Muslims and Dalits faced the atrocities of the government the most through targeted attacks based on bulldozer injustice, hence we are reaching out to these sections through smaller meetings and conferences, these meetings will continue to bring the communities under our umbrella,” said Anil Yadav, a senior U.P. Congress leader.