With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due early next year, the growing visibility of Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandra Shekhar Aazad through a series of high-attendance rallies across the state has attracted the attention of the ruling BJP and the Opposition alike.
Aazad addressed a large public rally in Kannauj last week under the banner of the Samvidhan Adhikar Bachao, where he spoke about social justice, Constitutional rights, and reforms in higher education. Earlier, he held a similar rally in Agra, and on Sunday addressed another large gathering in Sant Kabir Nagar. These events are part of Aazad’s sustained mobilisation drive across the state.
In Kannauj, Aazad also announced a protest in Delhi on February 11 in support of the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, launching a sharp attack on political parties that, he alleged, claim to be well-wishers of Dalits but have remained silent on the issue.
“On one side, large-scale protests were being held to stop the UGC, and on the other, those leaders who claim to be your well-wishers have gone silent,” said the MP.
He claimed that only his party had openly supported the UGC norms. “The Azad Samaj Party is the only party, the Bhim Army the only organisation, and Chandra Shekhar Aazad the only leader who is boldly saying that we will ensure the implementation of the UGC regulations,” he said.
New regulations and objections
The new UGC regulations, which were aimed to apply to all higher education institutions, lay down a structure and method for discrimination-related complaints to be made and addressed.
To implement the objective of these regulations, every higher education institution is mandated to have an Equal Opportunity Centre, an Equity Committee and Equity Squads.
However, a section of students and the BJP have alleged that the regulations can lead to the “harassment” of students in the general category, and can create divisions on the basis of caste. An aspect of the regulations that they are protesting is that there is no provision for penalties in the case of “false complaints of discrimination”, and that institutions can be subjected to action for not complying with the regulations.
The sustained mobilisation is being closely tracked by bigger parties. Leaders from Aazad’s party claimed that his speeches — often sharply critical of both the BJP and Opposition — had found resonance among younger voters and sections of Dalits looking for an alternative political voice. However, both the BJP and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) dismissed the rallies as a “bubble” driven by curiosity rather than political commitment. The Jatav Dalits are a core voter base of the BSP, which has seen its electoral fortunes decline over the past decade.
“When new people arrive on the political scene, they attract attention, like (Aam Aadmi Party chief) Arvind Kejriwal did. But they do not have a long-term future because they neither have a strong ideology nor an organisation on the ground,” said BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi, adding that the large crowds at Aazad’s rallies were merely a “curious crowd”.
BSP state president Vishwanath Pal also questioned the Nagina MP’s political impact, citing the Milkipur Assembly by-election, where the BSP did not contest. “If he is such a big Dalit youth leader, why did his party fail to get a significant vote share there?” Pal asked.
Echoing Tripathi’s views, Pal said the crowds had assembled just to have a glimpse of the leader. “Their vote is still with the BSP,” he said, adding that Aazad should have accepted the Supreme Court’s ruling on the UGC guidelines rather than “provoking the youth” over the issue.
The UGC guidelines, which the Supreme Court stayed on January 29 observing that they were “arbitrary” and could “divide society”, have seemingly dealt the BJP a blow with reports of 11 party office-bearers stepping down in protest against them. According to BJP insiders, the party could begin a national outreach programme next month to dispel the “negativity” around its provisions.
The INDIA bloc is also watching Aazad’s rallies closely, given its own focus on Dalit voters ahead of the Assembly elections. Admitting that the BSP’s absence from campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had shifted Dalit votes in the Congress’s favour, a senior leader told The Indian Express: “For the 2027 Assembly elections, both Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) were hoping for a similar trend,” the leader said, adding Aazad’s aggressive push to woo the Dalit community has upset several calculations. “If the current momentum continues, he could emerge as a significant force during the polls.”