Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad seems to be putting his Lucknow visit to good use even if he was prevented from participating in the anti-CAA protests at Hussainabad Clock Tower in the Old City.
On Monday, Chandrashekhar Azad met Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar at the VVIP Guest House where he has put up.
The two leaders decided to contest the 2022 UP assembly poll as part of a larger alliance called Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha.
“We have a common enemy in the Bharatiya Janata Party and we both will unite Dalits, Other Backward Classes and minorities under the Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha in the 2022 assembly polls,” Rajbhar told reporters after the meeting. Charging that the BJP did not want peace to prevail in the country, the SBSP chief further said, “All Dalits, OBCs and minorities will come together under this Morcha and we will work towards defeating the BJP.”
A former ally of the ruling party, the SBSP snapped ties with the BJP when Rajbhar was dismissed from the Yogi Adityanath government after the Lok Sabha elections in May last year.
“The BJP wants people to fight with each other for its vested vote politics. We are ready to fight for the cause of the oppressed besides raising the atrocities on Bhim Army members in the assembly,” he stated.
The Bhim Army chief has already announced to float a new political outfit on March 15 next.
Meanwhile, Chandrasekhar Azad visited Ravidas temple in Lucknow under tight security where he offered prayers to the Dalit saint and then met Dalit students living in a dilapidated hostel nearby.
A Bhim Army leader said that the police accompanied him only to ensure that he did not participate in any protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.