Chandrashekhar Azad visited Telangana on the invitation of BRS MLC and Telangana CM KCR's daughter K Kavita.
Chandrashekhar Azad with BRS MLC K Kavitha. (Twitter)
Will Dalit leader and chief of Bhim Army Chandrashekhar Azad become the BRS’s face in Uttar Pradesh? The visit of Azad, who is also the chief of Azad Samaj Party — on the invitation of BRS MLC and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter Kavitha Kalvakuntla — has piqued interest in political circles.
The visit comes at a time BRS is looking to expand at the national level. With party offices in Delhi and Maharashtra already, Chandrashekhar Rao, or KCR, has been welcoming leaders into the party from different states including, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha.
Addressing a gathering of BRS party workers near the newly-inaugurated statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Hyderabad, Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ thanked Kavitha for showing solidarity with him when his supporters were protesting in New Delhi on 21 July.
Azad’s supporters were demanding protection for the Bhim Army chief after he was shot at by unidentified assailants in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh in June.
“When we were protesting in Delhi, didi (Kavitha Kalvakuntla) sent four of her party’s MPs on my request and made our voice against injustice stronger. We are seeing everyday how injustice is being meted out to those fighting against the government, how CBI, ED, IT and NIA and fake cases are being used to scare people fighting for the country,” Azad, who also heads the Azad Samaj Party, said.
BRS leaders told South First that Azad’s was a courtesy visit on invitation from Kavitha Kalvakuntla.
“He was all praise for the work the BRS government under KCR is undertaking for the welfare of people. He appreciated the government for naming our new secretariat after Dr BR Ambedkar and also supports BRS’ push to name the new Parliament after Baba Saheb,” Ravula Sridhar Reddy, chairman, Telangana State Education & Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation, and spokesperson of BRS told South First.
Had a meeting today with BRS leader @RaoKavitha ji at her residence and paid obedience at the world’s largest Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue.
We discussed various issues from social justice to future of politics in India. pic.twitter.com/8YOIR0ehoU
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) July 27, 2023
BRS leaders added that Azad congratulated the party on wanting to play a bigger role at the national level and believed that KCR’s flagship schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu should be emulated countrywide.
Azad’s visit to Telangana comes weeks after Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visited Telangana and held talks with KCR.
Barely a few weeks ago, speculation was rife in Uttar Pradesh that Chandrashekhar Azad’s party, the Azad Samaj Party, was looking to join forces with SP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
SP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are both alliance partners of Azad Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. With SP now part of the newly formed Opposition front — Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) — political calculations seem to have changed.
“Whenever someone raises their voice for the vulnerable, we will stand with them. We stand with you,” Kavitha told Azad at the gathering, adding that Telangana Chief Minister KCR was also a leader who rose from agitation much like Azad.
The BRS MP also said that the government in Telangana was with the marginalised, Dalits and backward classes — the groups that Azad stands for.
In poll-bound Telangana, where Dalit votes are an influential bloc, endorsement of a popular Dalit leader like Chandrashekhar Azad will come as a boost to the BRS, especially when another leader in the state — Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) state president Praveen Kumar — is gaining popularity among Dalit communities.
The new camaraderie between BRS leaders and Azad, coupled with the Azad Samaj Party’s ties with the Samajwadi Party whose leader Akhilesh Yadav shares a bond with KCR, has raised speculations on Azad becoming the BRS’ face in Uttar Pradesh where his party is attempting to occupy the space ceded by Mayawati’s BSP.
Sources in BRS told South First that no such discussions took place on Thursday, which was only a preliminary meeting between leaders of the two parties.
BRS sources, however, added that it was too early to comment on a possible alliance or even merger, but endorsement from someone like Azad would boost party’s image.
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