Uttar Pradesh has approximately 22% Dalit voters. The battle for Dalit voters in the state has become Azad Samaj Party vs. BSP. Akash Anand will begin his election rallies from October 28th, and Chandrashekhar Azad will begin his election rallies from October 18th.
- In response to the Azad Samaj Party’s proposed rallies, the BSP has also released its schedule.
- The BSP has fielded Akash Anand against Chandrashekhar Azad.
- Chandrashekhar Azad presents himself as a prominent Dalit leader in UP.
Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in UP, the battle for Dalit politics has now become Chandrashekhar Azad vs. Akash Anand. Dalit voters are at the center of the political battle between the Azad Samaj Party and the BSP. Both parties’ politics revolve around Dalits. Mayawati has fielded Akash Anand against Chandrashekhar. Akash Anand faces the challenge of regaining the BSP’s lost base, while Chandrashekhar faces the challenge of political expansion. The most important question now is who will Dalit voters support in the upcoming state assembly elections.
Akash Anand to Hold a Series of Rallies
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has made full preparations to field her nephew and party’s national convener, Akash Anand, in the electoral fray. A rally for Akash is scheduled for October 28th in Anupshahr, Bulandshahr. Following this, meetings are also scheduled in Saharanpur, Ayodhya, Agra, and Kanpur divisions. Through these rallies, the party will announce potential candidates and attempt to recapture its lost support base.
Major Challenges Facing Akash
Political analyst Vinod Shukla explains that Akash Anand faces more than just the challenge of holding election rallies. He must also demonstrate how active the BSP organization is at the booth level, how connected old workers are, and what the party is doing to bring its traditional supporters back to the polling booths.
The campaign, which begins on October 28th, is crucial in this regard. After Anupshahr, meetings are scheduled in Nakur, Saharanpur, on November 2nd, Bikapur, Ayodhya, on November 20th, Agra, on November 22nd, and Bilhaur, Kanpur, on November 29th. Akash Anand’s programs have also been scheduled in Punjab and Uttarakhand. Assembly elections are due in these two states, along with Uttar Pradesh.
Chandrashekhar’s path is not easy.
Chandrashekhar Azad’s political career is rooted in Dalit rights, the Constitution, voices against social discrimination, and grassroots movements. After establishing his identity through the Bhim Army, he formed the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and won the Nagina seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
His victory demonstrated that there are political parties for Dalits in Uttar Pradesh beyond the BSP. According to political analysts, winning one Lok Sabha seat does not necessarily sway Dalit voters across the state. Chandrashekhar’s programs are scheduled for Amroha on October 18, Aligarh on October 19, and Muzaffarnagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Ghazipur from October 24 to 28.
Chandrashekhar did not win due to the Dalit equation.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chandrashekhar Azad won the Nagina seat. Chandrashekhar received 512,552 votes, defeating BJP’s Om Kumar by 151,473 votes. BSP candidate Surendra Pal Singh received 13,272 votes. Political analysts say that Muslim voters voted for Chandrashekhar to defeat the BJP, which is why he won. The Dalit equation played no role in his victory.
Will the Dalit vote be divided?
Vinod Shukla says that Dalit voters in Uttar Pradesh have long been the BSP’s core support base and traditional vote bank. Azad’s victory in Nagina certainly saw a decline in the BSP’s old electoral base, but this result is specific to a specific Lok Sabha constituency. Therefore, this cannot be seen as a permanent shift in Dalit votes across Uttar Pradesh. He stated that Dalit voters will remain with the BSP. The likelihood of them switching to Azad is very low. There are approximately 22 percent Dalit voters in Uttar Pradesh, which is the BSP’s traditional vote bank.
The role of Akash Anand and Chandrashekhar Azad will be in the spotlight for the 2027 UP Assembly elections regarding the support of Dalit voters. The BSP faces the challenge of re-establishing its old political base and organization. Chandrashekhar Azad faces the challenge of converting his victory in Nagina into a widespread electoral presence.
Manoj Mishra
Courtesy: Hindi News