Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Monday met Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party President Om Prakash Rajbhar to discuss the possibility of a new anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front in Uttar Pradesh before the 2022 Assembly elections, The Indian Express reported.
“For an alliance, I would say that anything can happen and there are always possibilities in politics,” Azad told media persons after meeting Rajbhar. “In the coming days, we will come forward to stop the BJP with a powerful alliance. If we need someone’s help then we will take their help too.” Invoking Dalit leader Kashi Ram, Azad said he wants to follow the ways in which Kashi Ram did politics.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party General Secretary Arvind Rajbhar told PTI that Azad will join an Opposition front known as Bhagidaari Sankalp Morcha, comprising eight parties, led by Rajbhar. “Bhim Army will also be a part of the front and a formal announcement will be made in the next few days,” he said. “Today’s meeting also deliberated on this.”
Azad said he will launch his own political outfit on March 15. “Several prominent faces, including former MP, MLA and MLCs will be present,” he said. “There is always a possibility that I can contest against a prominent politician in the elections.”
The Bhim Army chief spoke of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati with respect, and said she cannot win elections on her own. “She has been working for a long time,” he said. “And this is why we are here to help us in the movement. In politics, no one is an enemy for a long time, and with her blessings, we can settle ourselves in power.”
The BJP and its allies had won 325 out of the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 elections, leaving Mayawati’s party a poor third at 19 seats.
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