After analysing the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections and the electoral process there, the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh has decided to make a major shift in its political strategy ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
According to SP sources here on Monday, the party will now focus more on its own cadre rather than outside agencies and formulate its strategy around grassroots workers and booth-level organisation.
Party sources said the SP would rely more on its traditional organisational structure and local workers instead of political consulting firms. The focus will now shift from agitational politics to voter-list monitoring and booth-level preparation.
Earlier, the SP had already snapped ties with I-PAC, the political consultancy agency that had also worked with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) during the West Bengal elections.
SP strategists believe that public meetings and protests alone are not enough to win elections, and that voter-list accuracy and effective booth management play a decisive role.
The party fears opposition parties may suffer losses if voter lists are not monitored regularly. Preparations are therefore underway to activate party workers at the booth level across Uttar Pradesh.
A senior party official said, “During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress delegated significant responsibility to the professional electoral body I-PAC, while in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party deployed its own workers as ‘PDA watchdogs’. The SP claims that this is why the number of deletions from the voter list in Uttar Pradesh remained relatively low.”
According to a senior SP leader, over 2.7 million votes were affected in West Bengal due to technical errors and categorisation under “suspicious” entries in the final voter list. In contrast, in Uttar Pradesh, despite a large number of notices being issued, only a limited number of names were ultimately deleted from the rolls.
The difference, party leaders claim, was starkly evident. In West Bengal, nearly 2.716 million votes were struck off the final electoral rolls due to logical errors and categorisation as “suspicious”, whereas in Uttar Pradesh, out of the 32.6 million voters who received notices, the names of only about 3.5 lakh voters were eventually deleted.
SP leaders believe that during the SIR process in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress focused more on street protests, while the SP concentrated on legal and administrative procedures. The party now intends to continue this model while strengthening the role of booth committees and local workers.
Sources said the Samajwadi Party’s recent decision to distance itself from I-PAC was influenced by this experience. A view has emerged within the party that its own cadre and grassroots network are more dependable than outside agencies in electoral politics.
It is noteworthy that in West Bengal, the vote margin between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress stood at just 3.217 million. SP leaders argue that the votes struck off during the SSR process played a significant role in the Trinamool Congress’s defeat.
While the TMC repeatedly took to the streets during the SSR exercise, the SP focused its attention on monitoring the notice issuance process and the filing of Form-7 — the prescribed form for deletion of names from voter lists.
Political strategists within the SP also believe that, acting on the advice of I-PAC, the Trinamool Congress denied tickets to 74 sitting MLAs, while most of the new candidates fielded on the consultancy firm’s recommendation were defeated. Consequently, immediately after the election results, the SP terminated its contract with I-PAC and decided to return to a more traditional political strategy.
With an eye on the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the SP is now preparing to activate its organisation at the village, booth, and voter levels. The party leadership believes that a strong grassroots organisation and meticulous voter management will be the key to electoral success.