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The strategic chessboard for the 2027 assembly elections has started in Uttar Pradesh. On Saturday, a major political reshuffle was seen in the state headquarters of Samajwadi Party in the capital Lucknow. In the presence of SP President Akhilesh Yadav, many prominent leaders of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Asaduddin Owaisi's party AIMIM officially joined the membership of SP. The leaders joining the party include former MLA, former Minister of State, former District Panchayat President and many block heads.

'PDA is causing stomach pain to some people'

Welcoming the new leaders and hundreds of their supporters into the party, Akhilesh Yadav launched a strong attack on his political opponents. He said that the narrow-minded people in the country and the state are very scared of SP's 'PDA' i.e. backward, Dalit and minority alliance.

Referring to the election equations, Akhilesh Yadav taunted that I don't know why some people are so nervous with the word PDA. He quipped that the 'P' and 'D' of PDA have given someone a stomach ache. There can be no other issue as serious and effective in elections as PDA.

Former Minister of State Hemraj Verma returns home

During the party membership program, Hemraj Verma, former MLA from Barkheda assembly seat of Pilibhit, returned home to Samajwadi Party. Hemraj Verma had won the election in 2012 on SP ticket and held the post of Minister of State in the Akhilesh Yadav government. However, he joined BJP just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Hemraj Verma was recently in the news for suddenly falling during the running competition of the MP Sports Mahotsav held in Pilibhit in December 2025, the video of which went viral on social media. Now he along with all his supporters has again accepted the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav.

These veteran faces of AIMIM and BSP also joined together

Apart from this, Ram Shiromani Shukla, who was BSP MLA from Raniganj seat of Pratapgarh in 2007, has also become a part of SP. It is noteworthy that Ram Shiromani Shukla had also met Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak in Lucknow on May 21, but on Saturday he decided to join SP.

Owaisi's party AIMIM has also suffered a big setback. AIMIM's national spokesperson Dr. Abdul Mannan, resident of Shravasti, joined SP's hand in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav as part of a pre-announced program.

Target to form government in 2027

Apart from former District Panchayat President Usha Maurya, a large number of former block chiefs and District Panchayat members were among the new leaders who reached the SP office. During this program, senior SP leaders and former ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Rajendra Chaudhary were also present on the stage. All the leaders said in unison that their main goal is to again form a government with full majority of Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh in the 2027 assembly elections.