The relatively new Lok Sabha constituency of Nagina, one of the eight seats in Western Uttar Pradesh that went on to polls on April 19, has become an interesting seat this year for the future of Dalit-Bahujan politics. Carved out of Bijnor seat where Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati won her first Parliamentary election 35 years ago, the seat this time is seen a tough fight between the party and its recent nemesis, Chandrashekar Aazad ‘Ravan’. Having emerged as a new and influential face of Dalit identity politics and assertion in the region, the ‘son of Saharanpur’ formed his party, Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) in 2020 and is contesting his first Lok Sabha polls from Nagina solo, hoping to get support from the majority Muslim followed by Dalit population of the seat. The importance of his candidacy from the seat, with respect to Dalit politics, was underscored by the BSP which sent Mayawati’s nephew and political successor Aakash Anand to kick off the party’s election campaign from Nagina on April 6. Aazad, who rose to national prominence following the 2017 Saharanpur caste violence between Jats and Jatav Dalits, has been seen by many as a contender to the legacy of anti-caste stalwarts like Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kashi Ram, political mentor of Mayawati.
‘Not INDIA Bloc or NDA Alliance, I Am Working For Janta Alliance’, Says Chandrashekar Azad ‘Ravan’
Uttar Pradesh elections: Bhim Army and Aazad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad, the renegade new face of Dalit assertion, is taking on the BSP, BJP and SP in Nagina this year in what appears to be a battle for the future of Dalit-Bahujan political leadership in West UP.
In an interview with Outlook’s Rakhi Bose days ahead of polling, the Bhim Army chief spoke about issues that plague the region and the need for “Dalit-Muslim unity” to reverse politics of polarisation in the state. He also elaborated on what made him contest elections alone, despite overtures to the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and the role of BSP in the future of Dalit emancipation. “There is the INDIA alliance and the NDA alliance. We (ASP) are representing the Janta Alliance,” he said.
Read edited excerpts from the interview:
Nagina Lok Sabha constituency is a relatively new one, carved out of Bijnor in 2009. Why did you choose Nagina to contest your first Lok Sabha elections? Any particular significance of choosing this seat? What are the issues of voters on this seat?
Contesting from Nagina was the party’s (Azaad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)) decision, I did not play a big role in the selection. The party wanted to contest elections for Parliament this time and I agreed to whatever was decided. We are a very young party with no financial stability. Our workers have a lot of passion and conviction. Indian politics is driven by money. Kanshi Ram used to say “this is not a loktantra, this is a dhan-tantra”. Only people with money can fight elections and only people with money can rise in politics. The poor, the weak, the farmer, the labourer, the ones with good hearts and intentions, cannot compete with the power of money. Keeping this in mind, tje party felt that in order to establish the party at a national level, we need to fight for some seats in Parliament. Nagina was one of the eight seats in West UP going to polls in the first phase (April 19) and so we gave it priority. The primary objective of the party was to field me as a candidate and I accepted whatever it decided for me.
In 2022, during the by poll elections in Rampur and Khatauli Assembly seats and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, you had reportedly lent support to the SP-RLD candidate Madan Bhaiya in Khatauli. There were talks about you contesting Lok Sabha elections as part of the INDIA alliance. What happened? Why are you not contesting with SP-Congress?
I wanted to contest as part of the alliance. Initially, they (SP) even assured me that it would happen which is why I also spoke to my party members about it. They said many good things at the time. They said that the alliance was the only way to save democracy in India which is under attack. The Constitution is in danger. They said they wanted to fight these problems together. So I too agreed to fight together. But in the last moment, they pulled the plug by announcing their own candidate - Deepak Saini - from Nagina, making their allegiance clear. I welcomed the decision with grace. It’s not like I want to force or pressurise anyone to field us as their candidate. I and my party cadres have done a lot of hard work in this region. The ASP leadership has also worked very hard to foster goodwill for the party on ground. Based on that, we are saying that we are fighting from the “Janta Alliance (people’s alliance). On one side, there is the INDIA bloc, on the other is the NDA alliance. Our alliance is strongest of all because we are working for the Janta Alliance. We speak for and boast the janta (common public), we fight for them, we represent them.
Nagina has a Muslim and Dalit majority population with Muslim voters exceeding Schedule caste voters. You have been making appeals for “Dalit-Muslim” unity. How important is this demographic combination electorally and do you think it will work in your favour on ground?
This (Dalit-Muslim unity) should have happened a long time ago. Ye majloom aur majdoor ka ek majboot vikalp hai. (This is a strong alternative for the historically oppressed and the worker). “Dalit Muslim unity” can provide the much needed platform for the rise of those people or communities who want to participate in democratic politics but have historically remained outside its purview due to oppression, social or financial constraints. No one can function or move forward in a loktantra without shakti (power) and power is only with those in satta (in office). Satta prapt karna har aadmi ka lakshya hona chaiye (Achieving political power should be the goal of every individual). I am also fighting for satta.
Since before Independence, India has witnessed many governments led by many parties. They got the opportunity and worked for the country in their own ways. But even then, Babashabe Ambedkar had to form his own political party because he realised that even though the parties in power were claiming to be people centric, no one had was working on the foundational issues of the country like caste. The problems faced by the marginalised people was never on the agenda of these parties. I believe that these parties did not support us and the Dalit-Bahujan cause. And so we had to chart our own course in the country’s electoral landscape. We (Aazad and his supporters who are part of Bhim Army), could not sit at home anymore. The rebels, the people facing lathicharge of police and upper caste discrimination, the ones who are fighting unwarranted court cases for protesting against casteism, the ones who are facing bullets and even possible death, these people cannot just sit at home. They must organise and agitate. They must protest against injustice.
What is the relationship you and ASP have with Mayawati and the Bahujan Samaj Party? While you have often spoken about being on cordial terms with Behenji, the latter has in the past made allegations against you for being an “BJP mole”. Are you on cordial terms or is BSP your competitor? Would this rivalry have a polarising impact on Dalit politics in the region
I am on very cordial terms with BSP and Mayawati and there is no competition. Our relations are good and I hope they will remain so in future as well.
What about the movement for Dalit political assertion and identity that was started by Kanshi Ram in the 80s. Who is the successor of that, you or Kashi’s protege led BSP? Who are the current faces of Dalit politics in UP?
There can be many faces of Dalit politics but whether they are honestly working for the Dalit-Bahujan movement for emancipation forward is another question. Many claim to be carrying forward the legacy of Kanshi Ram’s movement but there is a difference between just saying it and doing it on ground in real time. We (ASP and Bhim Army) used the power of people’s movement to mobilise the issues of new current Dalit generations. Through the movement, in Nagina where we are contesting LS polls, we have seven to eight Zilla Panchayats under us. In one of them, the candidate who contested elections and won, had just Rs 50,000 for his poll campaign. So these are the kind of people who are the real leaders of the movement and that was the point of the movement itself, to bring people who have knowledge of the area and the desire to work for the area to political arenas and become policy or lawmaker that can work honestly for the upliftment of the community.
That is what ASP tries to do. Many of the parsed (zilla panchayat heads), chairmen, party officials etc from the party are from marginalised backgrounds and many even face financial constraints. These people might be poor but they are winning local body elections with the mandate of the janta. Aazad Samaj Party’s goal is to promote the mission of our mahapurush (emancipators of the oppressed castes). The rest are just working for their personal gains.
BSP supremo Mayawati, who was the succour of Kanshi Ram, has named her nephew, the London-returned MBA graduate Aakash Anand, as her successor. He even kicked off the party’s poll campaign this year on April 6 from Nagina seat which you are contesting. Do you think it was a way to send you a message?
He is a non-famous person. He is my younger brother and I have affection for him. But in politics, we often see that non-political or non famous people often take the support of known or established politicians or persons in power to gain momentum. Anand perhaps things that by making regular comments and jibes about me, he can get some publicity. Maybe he knows that many actors the country know my name and he thinks that by associating his name with mine, he will also become a household name. I don’t mind it. A democracy should always have room for debate, discussion and diversity of opinions. But the level of debate and discourse should not stoop so low that it brings shame to those indulging in it. He (Anand) speaks less against BJP, who should be our primary opponent, and more against me.
You were very active and vocal in your protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (2019) a few years ago and were seen leading protests in Delhi. The centre recently passed the CAA notifications this year but we saw no protests or condemnation from you this time. Why?
It is election season and the you, me and everybody else is aware of their poll strategies. We did not want to give the BJP any benefit of doubt. I have previously protested against CAA and my views about the same are publicly known. Once the elections are over, we will raise protests again. Our fight is not just with CAA but with NRC too. These laws, when seen together, discriminate against a certain religion which is against the constitutional values of the country. Your call for “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one) and promises of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas are false and empty. These promises have no relation to the needs and quandaries of common public.
What are the promises you are making to the people of UP and Nagina in particluar if you win the elections and become and first time MP?
I can promise to do many things now. But I will do it on ground. I will take the issues of the local voters here to Parliament. These issues include unemployment among educated youth, flooding of agrarian areas in Bijnor, rising water levels in Kho river, deaths of locals due to ‘Guldaar’ (animal) attacks etc that are of specific importance to the Nagina-Bijnore region. Issues like providing electricity, clean and constant water supply, development of roadways, cleanliness and garbage disposal, building schools and hospitals, medical colleges continue to persist. I would also like to highlight the lack of any sports colleges or institutions dedicated to nurturing local athletes or sporting talents. These internal areas across the country are a store house of talented sportspersons, especially from marginalised sections, who never end up being “discovered” due to lack of sources, resources or social capital. These are some of the issues I am hoping to work on. If possible, I would even like to create a cricket stadium to aid young talents in the region. Active participiation is sports not only keeps one healthy but also build character and helps youth stay away from social ills like substance use/abuse or petty crime.