Factionalism, ticket wars and poor turnout: Why Akhilesh’s Kannauj stronghold is fraying
Party leaders say rival camps skipped mobilising workers for the PDA meet, as the SP reassesses its organisation in the constituency Akhilesh Yadav won in 2024
When Samajwadi Party (SP) Uttar Pradesh chief Shyamlal Yadav arrived at party national president Akhilesh Yadav’s home turf in Kannauj on Sunday (October 18) to hold a Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak (PDA) conference, he was greeted by empty chairs and a handful of dispirited party workers.
What was meant to be a grand political spectacle instead became an embarrassing, sobering wake-up call for the party, the principal challenger to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The party’s poorly attended PDA convention in Kannauj has exposed the factional fault lines running through Akhilesh’s political stronghold, raising questions about the party’s ability to keep its local organisation united ahead of Assembly polls.
Consequently, the SP dissolved the state unit, stoking speculation that things may not be well on the party’s home turf.
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“This is routine restructuring that we are carrying out in many districts where the need was felt to reassess the party’s organisational strength and allocate roles according to the demand of the elections. There’s nothing to read between the lines here. As a party, we have one single motto of ensuring that we return to power and that Akhilesh Yadav ji once again becomes the CM,” SP’s spokesperson Abbas Haider told The Federal.
Deep-running fault lines
Speaking to The Federal, party leaders and local journalists described the poorly attended PDA convention as the culmination of deep-seated factionalism within the district unit. The SP’s prolonged spell out of power in a district that had remained its stronghold since 1998 has sharpened internal rivalries and exposed the organisational fissures beneath its erstwhile political dominance.
In 2017, the SP managed to win only one of Kannauj’s three Assembly constituencies; by 2022, it had lost all three to the BJP. This, party workers and local political observers argue, has deepened fissures within the organisation and left the cadre fragmented into rival camps that are now competing for political relevance and influence.
“When you are out of power for 10 years, naturally people start having an existential crisis. Over the years, few factions have developed within the party and are competing among themselves. Sunday’s event became the flashpoint of the same infighting,” a senior SP leader from Kannauj and longtime loyalist of Mulayam Singh Yadav told The Federal.
“And a section of them deliberately did not mobilise grassroots workers to attend the event as many wanted Akhilesh Yadav ji himself to take charge of the unit and set things right here. We are now hopeful that a good restructuring may help the party put up a stronger fight in the coming elections,” the senior leader added.
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Akhilesh wrested the Lok Sabha seat in Kannauj in 2024 after his wife Dimple Yadav had lost the seat to BJP’s Subrat Pathak in 2019.
Buoyed by the SP’s gains in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, party workers are optimistic about reclaiming lost ground in Kannauj in the 2027 Assembly polls. Local political observers, however, argue that the renewed electoral ambitions have sharpened intra-party rivalries. Adding fuel to the fire is the intensifying contest for political influence and candidature within the district unit.
“Now is the time that some people want to flex their muscle and demand either a better position in the district unit or a ticket to contest the election,” a booth-level party worker noted.
Factionalism and fight for supremacy
Kannauj Sadar, in particular, has become a flashpoint of competing ambitions following the death of former SP legislator and three-time MLA from the seat, Anil Dohre. His son, Yash Dohre, is staking a claim as the party's face and seeking to carry forward his father's legacy.
Veteran SP leader Kalyan Singh, previously with the BSP and defeated by Dohre in 2007, has invoked the party’s 2022 defeat in the seat to bolster his own claim to the candidature.
“A similar contest is unfolding in Tirwa, where after the demise of former MLA Vijay Bahadur Pal, leaders like Hukum Singh Yadav and Kukku Chauhan have been mobilising workers to support their camp,” said Kannauj-based political commentator Rashid Ali.
According to Ali, the infighting has also put the party’s ‘M-Y’ (Muslims and Yadavs) voter base under strain, especially in the Chhibramau Assembly seat.
“The party’s choice of candidate has previously generated discontent, with Muslim leader Tahir Hussain Siddiqui having sought the ticket before it went to Arvind Yadav in 2022. Now Yadav is mobilising his workers to root for him and even threatening that if he’s not given good weightage in the party, his support base may rebel,” Ali added.
PDA’s organisational test
The convention’s poor attendance has also raised questions about the relationship between the party’s central leadership and its local cadre. Complaints have reportedly emerged over the working styles of certain district leaders, including Vijay Tiwari and Haseeb Hasan, with workers alleging that their grievances are not reaching the leadership and that decisions taken locally are damaging the organisation.
The dissolution of the district executive, therefore, is more than a disciplinary response to an unsuccessful convention. It reflects the leadership’s attempt to regain control over an organisation where rival factions are competing for influence ahead of the 2027 elections.
“For Akhilesh Yadav, the challenge is to reconcile these competing interests without undermining the broader social coalition that underpins the PDA strategy. If he wins here, the party may hope for a better show in the elections,” said senior political observer Amitabh Tiwari.
