The Congress on Sunday released an eight-point “Dalit manifesto” for Uttar Pradesh, pledging free schooling and homes for Dalit families as it seeks the support of a community expected to play a decisive role in next year’s assembly election.

What was promised

The list pledges free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level and free homes with toilets, clean drinking water and power. Rajya Sabha member PL Punia said a Congress government would pay the full education costs of Dalit students directly. He added that students moving to other cities for higher studies, in courses such as BA, MA, BTech, LLB and MBBS, would get an extra Rs 1,000 in aid.

Roadshows to the villages

The party also flagged off Dalit roadshows that will travel through the state to remote villages, telling residents about the Congress’s past work for the community. The roadshow uses 100 vehicles, with each one meant to visit and stay in one village a day.

The effort is part of a 50-day campaign called Shiksha, Suraksha, Swabhiman, which aims to reach Dalits in around 5,000 villages across 85 reserved constituencies. Election strategist Prashant Kishor, hired by the Congress for the polls and earlier behind the “27 Saal UP Behal” and “Kisan Yatra” campaigns, is reportedly not involved in this one.

Dalits make up more than a fifth of the population of the state, and experts consider them central to the outcome.

What happened next

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, the BJP won 312 seats, the Samajwadi Party 47 and the BSP 19, and Yogi Adityanath became chief minister.

See also: Indian National Congress and Uttar Pradesh assembly members

Originally published on 5 December 2016. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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