Ramdas Athawale, the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment and president of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), announced that his party will contest 25 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. He expressed a preference for an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but indicated readiness to campaign independently if the BJP does not meet their seat-sharing demands. Athawale highlighted the party's organizational presence across 62 districts in Uttar Pradesh and its focus on strengthening ties with marginalized communities, particularly Dalits, by promoting the ideals of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He believes the decline of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) presents an opportunity for RPI(A) to attract Dalit votes for the NDA. Athawale is scheduled to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to discuss seat-sharing and alliance matters. He also criticized the Samajwadi Party's position on the Women’s Reservation Bill, asserting that true socialism should not oppose women's rights. Additionally, he addressed the Maharashtra government's language policy for drivers, advocating for educational opportunities rather than punitive measures.