Lucknow, Oct 31 (IANS): The 'PDA' factor in the Samajwadi Party campaign has now been widened to include upper caste, advasis and 'aadhi abadi'(read women).

Akhilesh said that 'A' in PDA was not restricted to minorities but includes 'agde' (upper castes), adivasis (tribals) and 'aadhi abadi' (women) apart from alpsankhyak (minorities).

This is the first time that the party has talked about upper caste being a part of PDA which was till now being defined as Pichhde (backward classes), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities).

Party insiders said since long the party leadership was looking to include upper caste and women in the PDA as their absence from the tagline was getting noticed in the political circles.

Ever since the party leadership had coined the PDA abbreviation as the main campaign plank for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a section of senior leaders, including some from the upper caste, were under pressure from their respective communities to ensure clarity on party’s stand towards upper castes.

"PDA talks of every section of the society. What better example can there be than the fact that SP fielded Sudhakar Singh – a Rajput – as its candidate for Ghosi Assembly bypoll and everyone, including backward castes, Dalits, Muslims and other minorities, voted en masse to ensure his victory," Akhilesh said.

"If P and D stand for Pichhde and Dalits, A is for Alpsankhyak (minorities), Agde (upper caste), advasis and aadhi abadi," Akhilesh said in response to a query on why his PDA was silent on upper caste Hindus.

Talking about his party's cycle yatra, he said the statewide yatra was against BJP government's misrule at the national level and in UP as well. The aim of Cycle Yatra is to make people aware about the damage done by the divisive policies of the BJP-led NDA and the importance of caste census to ensure social justice, he said.

The yatra is against BJP's targeted attack on Azam Khan and his family by implicating them in false and fabricated cases, he said.

The yatra, which was flagged off from Prayagraj on August 9, has already covered 5,000 km and will expose the BJP government by the time it concludes.

The first phase of yatra, which has already passed through villages and cities across 100 assembly constituencies, will conclude in Safai on November 22 to mark the birth anniversary of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.