The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) of UP is already busy preparing for the Lok Sabha elections to be held next year i.e. 2024. This time SP has special focus on Dalit voters. This is the reason that SP President Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad will appear together on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. The three leaders are scheduled to address a large gathering at Mhow (Dr. Ambedkar Nagar) in Madhya Pradesh, the birthplace of Dr. BR Ambedkar. The event is part of the Dalit outreach program of the three leaders. The trio has been urging Dalit voters not to swing towards the BJP for some time now.
The trio will be seen together for the first time
According to a report in The Indian Express, on April 14, the three leaders will address a public meeting after paying homage to Dr. Ambedkar. Both SP and RLD have instructed their district units in Uttar Pradesh to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti across the state. This will be the first time that all the three leaders will come together on a single platform to give a message of unity to Dalits and garner their support in future elections. Akhilesh, Jayant and Chandrashekhar had earlier demonstrated their unity in Khatauli and Rampur assembly bypolls last year. Taking time off from campaigning in Mainpuri, Akhilesh traveled to Rampur to address a rally, where he shared the stage with an Azad Samaj Party leader.
SP will contest elections in Madhya Pradesh
The program will help the three parties track Dalit votes as well as prepare their pitch for the Lok Sabha polls. The SP has also decided to contest the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh later this year. Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) form a major part of the state’s population. The SP had won one seat in the state in the 2018 assembly elections. According to the report, an SP leader said, “From the land of Mhow, all three top leaders of their respective parties will make their pitch for the Lok Sabha elections in UP. Chandrashekhar’s Azad Samaj Party may also join the alliance and his party may help them all get the support of Dalits.”
Akhilesh openly playing on Dalit voters
Let us inform that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were fought by SP and RLD together with BSP. At that time, Mayawati’s party had the responsibility of securing Dalit votes for the alliance. But the alliance did not get the results they expected. BSP got only 10 seats, while SP got five and RLD did not get even a single seat. The SP celebrated the birth anniversary of BSP founder and Dalit leader Kanshi Ram at the party’s state headquarters last month. Akhilesh Yadav on Monday unveiled Kanshi Ram’s statue in Rae Bareli district and directed party units to celebrate Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on a large scale in all districts.
Mhow is the birthplace of Dr BR Ambedkar and has a memorial there. Dalits and other followers of Ambedkar visit the memorial to pay homage to the architect of the Indian Constitution. SP’s Madhya Pradesh President Ramayan Singh Patel said, “The program is being organized near that memorial. Akhilesh ji, Jayant ji and Chandrashekhar ji will be in the program and they will give the message of protecting democracy and constitution from BJP.
SP and RLD celebrating Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar Jayanti publicly
BSP claims the support of Dalits in UP. But with time the attitude of BSP towards Dalits has changed. While SP and RLD leaders are publicly celebrating the birth anniversaries of Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar, BSP president Mayawati remains in Lucknow and Delhi paying homage to both the Dalit icons at party offices.
Jayant Chaudhary has confirmed that he will attend the program in Mhow. Chowdhary said the message coming out of the event would be about the need to fulfill Ambedkar’s vision and implement all the provisions of the constitution drafted by him. Chaudhary said that a social organization is going to host the event.
big question remains
The SP-RLD alliance has had limited success in UP. However, it remains to be seen how much the alliance of this trio benefits from the coming together of Chandrashekhar Azad. Please tell that Azad’s party has not yet made a formal announcement of the alliance. Earlier, the RLD had won the bypoll in Khatauli, a seat the BJP had won in 2017 and 2022. While RLD and SP worked on the ground, Azad extended his support to the RLD candidate. All three had campaigned in the entire constituency to garner the support of Dalit voters.
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