The Samajwadi Party (SP) president, Akhilesh Yadav, will lead a series of ‘PDA audit’ press conferences highlighting the alleged marginalisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Minorities in various government services and across different levels of governance and power structures in Uttar Pradesh. Press conferences will also be held at the district and local level party leaders told The Hindu.
The audit aims to highlight the discrimination these social groups face when officials are selected for important assignments like District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP). The first such conference will be held on May 20 at Lucknow, and is titled ‘Samajwadi PDA audit’. PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak) is an acronym for Backwards, Dalit, and Minorities, which is the SP’s broader plank to mobilise support among these social groups. The SP is pushing hard to make deeper inroads within these groups.
According to Alok Ranjan, a former U.P. Chief Secretary and close confidant of the SP president: “the objective of the PDA audit is to determine the actual representation of PDA in various government services and across different levels, and also to see if PDA has been discriminated against on important assignments like District Magistrate (DM), Superintendent of Police (SP), Station House Officer (SHO), Tahsildar, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Block Development Officer (BDO). Frequently NFS (not found suitable) is used as a mechanism to deny reservation in recruitment. This PDA audit will highlight that such things are purely discriminatory.”
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of discriminating against employees of Backward, Dalit and Minority origin, the SP said that through these conferences, the party will sensitise and educate marginalised groups at village and district level on how their rights are being denied. “After Wednesday’s conference, we will take the issue to the masses on how PDA faces discrimination from the BJP government. We have always demanded a share in the power structure according to population strength, but the present government has suppressed the PDA,” said Sunil Singh Yadav ‘Sajan’, the SP spokesperson.
Published - May 18, 2026 09:46 pm IST
Uttar Pradesh / state politics / Samajwadi Party
Source: The Hindu - India News
