Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad Ravana is the Gorakhpur (city) candidate against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. According to sources, the Congress may support Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrasekhar in that seat. On Thursday, Chandrasekhar’s party announced that he is running against Yogi.
Despite the possibility of an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP), the 34-year-old Dalit leader has finally decided to contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls with a single force. However, he said on Wednesday that they were in talks with Congress to reach an agreement in some constituencies.
The Bhim Army, a social organization formed by Chandrasekhar, has taken part in the fight for the rights of Dalits and backward classes in various states in the last few years. Chandrasekhar also played an important role in the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in North India. Shahinbagh also joined the rally and went to jail. He formed the Azad Samaj Party in March 2020.
Another Dalit leader Mayawati’s party BSP has not yet been active in the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. In this situation, some political analysts think that if Chandrasekhar’s party forms an alliance with Congress, a part of the Dalit vote may go in that direction.
