Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azaad Says Convoy Shot at in UP's Bulandshahr Ahead of Bypoll Rally

Bhim Army and Azad Samaj Party leader Chandrashekhar Azaad said Sunday that his convoy had been fired at in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr District.

The Dalit leader was set to launch his political campaign on Sunday for the upcoming UP bypolls by addressing a rally in Bulandshahr in support of his candidate, Hazi Yamin. This was the electoral debut of his party.

“Opposition parties have been terrified by our candidates landing in Bulandshahr elections and today’s rally made them lose their sleep; due to which my convoy has been fired at in a cowardly manner. This shows the desperation of their defeat, they want the atmosphere to be bad but we will not let it happen,” he said in a tweet.

However, Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Singh said the incident has not been confirmed yet and only a news channel was running the report of the alleged attack.

Bhim Army activists had been involved in door-to-door mobilisation to garner support and ensure a massive turnout at the rally. The Bulandshahr seat was held by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Virendra Sirohi whose death in March has necessitated the by-election. The by-polls will be held on November 3 for seven seats.

UP Police had previously filed cases against Azaad and others for violating Covid-19 guidelines. Bhim Army had been vociferous in the force’s handling of the Hathras case, wherein a Dalit girl was allegedly gangraped by so-called upper caste men, and later succumbed to her injuries.

After multiple protests, the leader said he had been detained by the Uttar Pradesh police while travelling with the Hathras victim’s family to Delhi, and put under house arrest in Saharanpur.

Azaad had previously announced that his party will plunge into politics with the name ‘Azad Samaj Party’, while Bhim Army will continue to work as a parallel outfit. ASP will contest 30 seats in Bihar, where he has teamed up with Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party, under the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) banner.

For the Bulandshahr seat, the BJP has fielded Usha Sirohi, wife of the deceased MLA, while the Rashtriya Lok Dal-Samajwadi Party’s joint candidate is Praveen Kumar. The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Shamusddin Raen, while the Congress candidate is Sushil Chaudhary.

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