Newly-elected Nagina MP and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad is all set to emerge as a new star of Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh. The Dalit leader appears to be determined to chart his own course in politics, independent of opposition block INDIA. This is the maiden victory of Azad in Lok Sabha election.
Azad Samaj Party has decided to contest the by-election to the nine assembly seats, including Karhal. The party has, in fact, started preparing in the Karhal seat, vacated by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav following his election to Lok Sabha from Kannauj.
Following successive defeats of the Bahujan Samaj Party in UP assembly elections since the 2012 UP assembly polls, Dalit politics was in a state of meltdown. BSP lost the 2012, 2017 and 2022 UP assembly elections. The party won 10 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and scored nil in 2024 polls.
Azad defeated his nearest candidate from the BJP by over 1.5 lakh votes and pushed BSP’s Surendra Pal Singh to the fourth spot. The BSP candidate in Nagina polled less than 14,000 votes.
On the other hand, the BSP failed to open its account in the state, though the party managed to muster close to 9% of the votes. The party’s campaign was lacklustre, as INDIA bloc made a concerted effort to wean away a section of Dalits by underscoring the ‘Save Constitution’ campaign.
Nagina is the Lok Sabha constituency in Bijnor district (western UP) with over 60% Muslim and Dalit population. During his campaign, these were the two communities that Azad had wooed.
Azad’s win has a larger political significance in the heartland politics as BSP has failed to demonstrate a contest in both Lok Sabha and state assembly polls since the rise of BJP in UP in 2014.
Because of its high Dalit population, Bijnor and Nagina are considered bellwether seats in the Dalit politics in UP. Dalit stalwarts like Mayawati and Meira Kumar have represented the constituencies in the past.
During the campaign, Mayawati’s nephew Aakash Anand, while addressing a rally in Nagina, had lashed out at Azad for “misleading the Dalit youth.” Though INDIA allies also did not accommodate Azad in the alliance, his victory could trigger realignment.
