The shift was underlined at a party convention in Lucknow on Sunday, where Chaudhary called for the RLD to expand its organisation in Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh while presenting the party as a platform for broader social representation rather than a vehicle tied to a single caste bloc.
The convention at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan drew party workers and new entrants from regions. RLD leaders had said beforehand that Brahmin political and social figures would join the organisation, with the mobilisation designed to build a stronger presence among upper-caste voters and extend the party’s reach beyond western Uttar Pradesh.
Working state president Anupam Mishra said ahead of the gathering that Brahmins were showing interest in the RLD’s politics and in the legacy of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. Party organisers also sought participation from Purvanchal, where the RLD has had a limited electoral footprint compared with its base in western districts.
The effort follows a wider organisational exercise aimed at reducing the RLD’s dependence on Jat support. Earlier this month, the party’s parliamentary board chairman, K C Tyagi, submitted to Chaudhary a list of 29 most backward castes concentrated across western Uttar Pradesh’s Hastinapur, Ruhelkhand and Braj regions, recommending greater organisational representation for those communities.
That initiative covered areas spanning 100 Assembly constituencies and was intended to strengthen the RLD among groups outside its established core. The party has also placed Gurjar mobilisation prominently in its electoral calculations, making the Brahmin campaign another layer in a diversified caste and regional strategy.
Brahmins form a smaller share of the electorate in many western Uttar Pradesh districts than Jats but can influence close contests, especially where voting margins are narrow and upper-caste consolidation matters. Political parties are competing intensively for their support as preparations gather pace for the election expected in early 2027.
The Samajwadi Party has also stepped up outreach to Brahmins. It held a major programme in Lucknow on August 5 around the birth anniversary of socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra, with party president Akhilesh Yadav seeking to broaden the appeal of his PDA formulation beyond backward classes, Dalits and minorities. Yadav later said the “P” in PDA could also stand for Pandit, a commonly used reference to Brahmins.
The BJP, meanwhile, is working to retain support among Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas while preserving the wider coalition of non-Yadav backward castes and Dalit groups that has been central to its Uttar Pradesh strategy. The RLD’s outreach therefore complements the ruling alliance’s effort to defend upper-caste support while adding caste groups capable of improving its performance in closely fought constituencies.
Chaudhary used Sunday’s Lucknow gathering to argue against what he described as narrow caste politics, while sharply criticising the Samajwadi Party’s approach without naming Yadav repeatedly. He said political formations should take all sections along and questioned whether groups previously associated with the opposition had received adequate respect and representation.
His remarks came amid an increasingly personal exchange between the former allies. The RLD and Samajwadi Party contested elections together before Chaudhary moved into the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. He serves as Minister of State with independent charge of skill development and entrepreneurship and as Minister of State for Education.
The RLD’s stronger push into Lucknow, Awadh and Purvanchal also has an organisational purpose. Mishra has said the party wants to shed the perception that it is confined to western Uttar Pradesh and is seeking workers, local leaders and potential candidates in central, eastern and Bundelkhand regions.
