Akhilesh unveils blue dress code for SP youth wing to push Bahujan plank

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said the party’s student wing has adopted a blue T-shirt and jeans as its new dress code, adding that the wing will launch a two-week student awareness campaign to connect with young people in educational institutions.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Yadav said, “When the new generation has a new way of thinking, then their uniform should also be new.” He said the new dress code not only provides a unique identity, but also speaks of socialist values of the party and the ‘Bahujan Samaj’.

Earlier, Chhatra Sabha workers used to wear red shirts or kurtas. Blue is generally associated with the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Mr. Yadav said that a two-week student awareness week would be organised during which members of the student wing would visit campuses, universities, colleges and hostels, and connect the youth with the PDA movement.

In 2023, Mr. Yadav coined the acronym PDA which stands for ‘Pichhde’ (backward classes), Dalits and ‘Alpsankhyak’ (minorities). On Monday, he had said that the PDA is an alliance of progressive and positive people — the ‘pidhit’ (harassed), ‘dukhi’ (sad) and ‘apmaanit’ (humiliated) people — who will form a PDA government and will establish social justice.

The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in 2027.

“PDA is progressive, positive, democratic and affirmative action. It is about bringing people together, increasing brotherhood, strengthening social harmony, democratic values and following the Constitution… We will work to establish a rule of social justice by bringing together the people of PDA,” Mr. Yadav said on Tuesday.

Sunil Singh Yadav ‘Sajan’, the SP spokesperson, said the blue colour signifies socialist values and idea of equality. “The blue colour is a progressive step signifying a broader outreach. It shows our commitment to the socialist values and equality,” he said.
He also said that the blue colour is also to bring various sections of the society under the SP’s PDA umbrella who are facing oppression and marginalisation at the hands of the feudal forces supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).