From Parliament in Delhi to election rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav has often been seen wearing a red scarf and red cap. Along with the kurta-pyjama, these have become something of a dress code for Samajwadi Party leaders, giving office-bearers a distinct identity much like the party flag and symbol.
But at a meeting of district presidents held in Lucknow on August 31, 2026, Akhilesh was seen wearing a blue scarf around his neck. Six days later, a message reached workers of the Samajwadi Party’s student wing, Samajwadi Chhatrasabha, telling them they would now wear blue T-shirts and jeans. Until now, they had worn maroon shirts and white trousers.
The SP organisation has also sent blue T-shirts to student leaders, bearing the Samajwadi Chhatrasabha logo. This is the wing that remains active among students in universities and colleges across Uttar Pradesh. Is the SP using these changes to woo Dalit voters or Gen Z ahead of the elections? Read the report…
Understand the change in the SP’s dress code
August 31- District presidents’ meeting
A meeting of district presidents and metropolitan presidents from all 75 districts was held at the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow. The agenda was election preparations.
Everyone wore red scarves around their necks. When Akhilesh Yadav arrived on stage, Shivpal was with him. Neither was wearing the usual red scarf. Both were wearing blue scarves instead. It was an unspoken message to party office-bearers.
However, when Akhilesh was asked about the blue scarf, he replied in a measured tone, “The weaver brothers made it for us. So that we look a little different.” He then laughed.
September 6- Message reaches Chhatrasabha workers
Samajwadi Chhatrasabha is the SP’s student wing. It too has a dress code, with members wearing maroon shirts and white trousers. This was changed on September 6.
Student workers have now been sent blue T-shirts and jeans. The T-shirts feature the Chhatrasabha logo and a bicycle. However, the SP’s official launch of the new dress code is scheduled for September 8.
What is Akhilesh trying to achieve with the colour blue?
Akhilesh Yadav has been seen wearing blue scarves before, particularly on occasions such as BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary or at rallies in Dalit-dominated areas. According to political analysts, the SP is pursuing two major objectives through the change:
- Dalit vote bank – Dalits account for 21.1% of Uttar Pradesh’s voters. Wearing a blue scarf is an attempt to send the message that the SP is now a direct claimant to the politics of Dalit rights.
As the BSP’s political base in UP continues to weaken, the SP wants to take over that space completely. In political history, blue has long been a symbol of Ambedkarite ideology and Bahujan politics.
Through this, the SP wants to give its PDA (backward classes, Dalits and minorities) slogan a visual identity, rather than leaving it confined to speeches.
- Gen Z and young voters – Samajwadi Chhatrasabha has units in 80 universities and more than 8,000 colleges across UP. Until now, its members were seen in maroon shirts and white trousers. The party believes blue jeans and T-shirts will make it easier to connect with students on university and college campuses.
Message to Dalits through blue, will it help?
Until 2022, a large section of Dalits, particularly non-Jatavs, along with non-Yadav OBC voters, remained a strong support base for the BJP. The trend changed in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The ‘Constitution is in danger’ narrative and Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA strategy led to a rapid shift of the BSP’s traditional Dalit vote, along with non-Jatav Dalit and OBC voters who had moved away from the BJP, towards the SP-Congress alliance.
As a result, the BJP was reduced to 33 seats in UP, while the SP emerged as the largest party with 37 seats. Akhilesh is once again trying to build the same narrative just before the elections, in an effort to secure Dalit voters’ support in the Assembly polls.
Blue is considered a symbol of equality and equal rights. It can also be seen as a symbol of the thinking of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and Dr BR Ambedkar. This is a student organisation, so changes are being made to increase youth participation. We are not limited to UP; we are also doing good work in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. This new dress code will apply to the entire Chhatrasabha organisation across the country.
Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BSP’s influence has become more deeply embedded in the SP. This was the period when the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party entered into an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections.The alliance broke up after the elections. After that, several prominent BSP leaders left the party and joined the SP. These included major Dalit faces such as Inderjit Saroj, RK Chaudhary and Tribhuvan Dutt. The SP then also began observing the birth and death anniversaries of Dalit icons, including Dr BR Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.Before long, the backdrop at the Samajwadi Party office changed. Pictures of various Samajwadi leaders replaced the bicycle that had been on the backdrop. Along with green and red, blue was also added. Since then, Akhilesh Yadav has increasingly been seen wearing blue scarves on different occasions.
Every colour has its own meaning. All Bahujan people identify with the colour blue. As for the dress code, changes happen in everything from time to time, and this is also being changed. It may be premature to link it to vote-bank politics. Our party works in line with what today’s youth and students think.
Syed Yasir Raza | Lucknow
Courtesy : Bhaskar English
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