New Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad on Sunday launched his own political party, “Azad Samaj Party” in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Late last year, Azad had declared the to form a new political party but had later retreated in view of the nation-wide protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Aazad chose to launch his party on the birth anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram. He said that the Bhim Army will continue to function and enrol new members despite his decision to launch a political party.
The party flag will be a white band between two blue strips, with the name of the party embossed in the middle.
Earlier in the day, the UP police tried to prevent the event because of the government’s directive to stop gathering of more than 50 people, but following protests by the Bhim Army cadre, it was allowed to happen.
Aazad rose to prominence three years ago, when following clashes between Dalits and Rajputs in Shabbirpur village near Saharanpur, UP police slapped the National Security Act on him and kept him imprisoned for more than a year. After he got bail, he has been at the forefront of protests against the Narendra Modi-led union government. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, Aazad also filed his nomination from Varanasi to directly challenge the prime minister but later withdrew from the contest.
However, he has also faced attack from the Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who has accused him of derailing the Dalit movement for personal gains. She has even called him a “BJP agent”. Aazad, has, however, said that Mayawati no longer held the same esteem among Dalits as she did before, and has been accusing her of “not doing enough for the Dalits.”
In the ongoing anti-CAA protests, Aazad has been one of the most vocal leaders to come out in support of the protesters. He led a rally from the ramparts of New Delhi’s Jama Masjid, following which he was charged with arson, rioting, and inciting violence. He was granted a conditional bail which required him to stay out of Delhi for four weeks (the order was later modified, allowing him to enter the city).
At a press briefing in January 2020, a day after he got bail, Aazad had said he had temporarily postponed his plan to float a political organisation, as he and his group wished to be led by the “dadis of Shaheen Bagh” in the ongoing protests.
Now that Aazad prepares to enter the political stage full-time, it remains to be seen how the advocate-turned-politician fares in the coming days. According to sources, he will prepare his party to contest the 2022 UP assembly polls. He has already begun talks with disgruntled BJP ally Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, to form a larger alliance – the Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha.