With the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh a few months away, the pieces on the chessboard of politics have started moving. The main Opposition force, the Samajwadi Party (SP), has sharpened its strategy to breach the consolidated non-Yadav OBC support base of BJP allies by rolling out its women-led PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) outreach. For the past few years, the BJP has relied on its network of regional allies in the state to secure key non-Yadav OBC constituencies. The Apna Dal (Sonelal) is seen to be influential among the Kurmi-Patels, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) among Rajbhars, and the NISHAD Party among riverine communities such as Nishad, Mallah, and Kewat. Together, these groups form a decisive electoral bloc, particularly in Purvanchal or eastern UP. Beyond M-Y formula Traditionally anchored in the Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) combination, the SP has been attempting a broader social coalition since the last election and appears to have doubled down on this strategy.…