LUCKNOW, Sept. 17 -- Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has drawn up an ambitious plan to expand the party's PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) social coalition deep into traditional Bharatiya Janata Party strongholds ahead of the 2027 UP assembly elections.

The strategy centres on two high-profile events, according to a senior Samajwadi Party leader not willing to be named: A Dalit conference in Agra and a two-day training campaign in Gorakhpur in November. Both locations carry strong political symbolism and significant social arithmetic.

In Agra, the SP has tasked party's national general secretary Ramji Lal Suman with organising the western Uttar Pradesh Dalit conference. Agra and adjoining districts have a substantial Scheduled...