From BR Ambedkar’s birthplace, Akhilesh-led trio to send out unity message to Dalits

This event will see the three parties make their Lok Sabha election pitch, with an eye on Dalit votes. The SP has also decided to contest the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh later this year. Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) make up a big part of the state’s population. The SP won one seat in the state in the 2018 Assembly polls.

“From the land of Mhow, all three top leaders of their respective parties will launch their pitch for the Lok Sabha elections in UP, with the SP and RLD as allies. Chandrashekhar’s Azad Samaj Party may also join the alliance and his party may help them all garner the support of Dalits,” said an SP leader.

The SP and RLD contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BSP. At the time, Mayawati’s party was responsible for getting the Dalit votes for the alliance. But the coalition did not get desired results, with the BSP winning only 10 seats, while the SP got five and the RLD drew a blank.

Last month, the SP celebrated the birth anniversary of BSP founder and Dalit icon Kanshi Ram at the party’s state headquarters. Akhilesh Yadav on Monday unveiled a statue of Kanshi Ram in Rae Bareli district and directed the party’s units to celebrate Ambekdar’s birth anniversary at a grand scale in all districts.

Mhow is the birthplace of Dr B R Ambedkar and there is a memorial to him there. Dalits and other followers of Ambedkar visit the memorial to pay tribute to the architect of the Indian Constitution. “The event is being organised near that memorial. Akhilesh ji, Jayant ji and Chandrashekar ji will be at the programme and they will deliver a message of protecting democracy and the Constitution from the BJP,” said Ramayan Singh Patel, SP’s Madhya Pradesh state president.

“The BSP claims support of Dalits in UP. But the BSP’s approach towards Dalits has changed over time. While SP and RLD leaders are celebrating the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar in public, BSP president Mayawati stays back in Lucknow and Delhi and offers tributes to both Dalit icons at party offices. To mobilise the masses, a direct connection with them on the ground is essential,” said another SP official.

“There is no Dalit in the race for the Prime Minister or the UP CM. In this situation, the Dalits, the poor and the deprived sections of society may align with the ruling party. To prevent that, there is a need to strengthen the ideological beliefs of Dalits. This event is going to be an outreach programme in that direction,” said an RLD leader, adding that the presence of Akhilesh, Jayant, and Azad on one stage would present an alternative to Dalits across the country.

Jayant Chaudhary confirmed he would attend the event in Mhow. Chaudhary said the message emanating from the programme would be about the need to fulfil the vision of Ambedkar and implement all the provisions of the Constitution he had drafted. Chaudhary said a social organisation was going to host the programme.

Akhilesh, Jayant and Chandrashekhar had earlier put up a show of their unity in the Khatauli and Rampur Assembly bypolls last year. From a busy campaign in Mainpuri, Akhilesh travelled to Rampur to address a rally where he shared the stage with the Azad Samaj Party leader.

The RLD won the bypoll in Khatauli, a seat the BJP had won in 2017 and 2022. While the RLD and the SP worked on the ground, Azad extended his support to the RLD candidate. All three campaigned across the constituency to get the support of Dalit voters.