Bhim Army, a Dalit centric social organisation, on Saturday reacted sharply over the decision of the Samajwadi Party (SP), which announced its candidate for the Nagina constituency, where the organisation’s founder Chandrashekhar Azad, is contesting from. Mr. Azad, who is also the founder of the Azad Samaj Party (ASP), added that the SP would go down in the dustbins of history and that its decision proves that Dalits and Muslims are being exploited by the party in the name Backward, Dalit, and Minority unity. The Bhim Army asked its supporters to oppose the SP in General Election by hitting the None of the Above (NOTA) button.
“In all those Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh where there is no candidate from our own party [ASP], all the workers of Bhim Army are requested not to support the Samajwadi Party candidate under any circumstances. Use the NOTA button. The SP is also following the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Soon the family centric casteist party will go down in the dustbins of history. Dalits and Muslims are being exploited in the name of picchde (backward classes), Dalits and alpsankhyak (minorities). You [the SP] are working as BJP’s B team,” said the Mainpuri unit of the Bhim Army on X (formerly Twitter).
In an indirect attack on the SP for fielding candidate from Nagina, a Scheduled Caste reserved constituency, Mr. Azad himself said, “Only those who are weak cry for fate. Those who have to grow, grow even after ripping open the chest of a stone.” The constituency has sizeable Dalit electorate.
The SP’s decision to put up a candidate from a Scheduled Caste reserved seat signals that the party will not enter into any kind of alliance with the Dalit centric ASP led by Mr. Azad. Earlier, when Mr. Azad declared his candidature from Nagina, it was rumoured that the SP would support him directly or indirectly by not putting up a candidate on that seat.
