Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | ASP(KR) |
| Leader | Chandrashekhar Azad |
| President | Chandrashekhar Azad |
| General Secretary | Ravindra Bhati Gurjar |
| Parliamentary Chairperson | Chandrashekhar Azad |
| Lok Sabha Leader | Chandrashekhar Azad |
| Founder | Chandrashekhar Azad[1] |
| Founded | 15 March 2020; 5 years ago (2020-03-15)[2] |
| Headquarters | 3/22-c-136, c block GokulpurNew Delhi, 110094 |
| Student wing | Bhim Army Student Federation of India |
| Youth wing | Bhim Army |
| Ideology | Ambedkarism Socialism (Indian) Dalit rights Secularism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Colours | Blue |
| ECI Status | Registered Unrecognised party |
| Alliance | RLP (2023)GDA (2025) |
| Seats in Rajya Sabha | 0 / 245 |
| Seats in Lok Sabha | 1 / 543 |
| Seats in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly | 0 / 403 |
| Seats in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council | 0 / 100 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Party flag | |
_FLAG.png) | |
| Website | |
| aazadsamajpartyk | |
Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) (abbr.ASP(KR)), commonly known asAazad Samaj Partyabbr.ASP), is an Indian registered,unrecognisedpolitical party in thestate ofUttar Pradesh. It was founded byChandrashekhar Azad.
The Azad Samaj Party's origins lie in the Bhim Army founded byChandra Shekhar Aazad in 2015 to protect constitutional rights and oppose caste oppression.[3][4] The group formed after reports of discrimination and caste-based violence faced byDalit students at AHP Inter-college inUttar Pradesh, and the Bhim Army then helped protect the Dalit students.[5][4]
Azad gained attention after publicly posting a sign which read "The GreatChamar of Dhadkauli Welcome You."[3][4] Upper-casteRajputs were upset with the Dalit celebration of identity and objected to the erection of the board.[6] But, the Bhim Army intervened and ensure that the Thakurs did not unleash any violence.[6] In another incident, the Rajputs prevented a Dalit groom from riding a horse to his wedding.[6] Yet again, the Bhim Army intervened and escorted the groom.[6]
The Bhim Army attained national prominence after clashes in Uttar Pradesh.[7] In June 2017, the group's leader Chandrashekhar, a lawyer, was arrested by the Uttar PradeshSpecial Task Force.[8] Chandrashekhar was granted bail by theAllahabad High Court in November 2017, but the Uttar Pradesh government led byYogi Adityanath continued to detain him under theNational Security Act until it dropped the NSA order in September 2018 and acquitted Chandrashekhar from jail.[9] Chandrashekhar describes himself as a representative ofBahujan identity and a follower ofKanshi Ram.
The group protests against discrimination andcaste violence against Dalit by members of the upperThakurs caste inviolent clashes in 2017 in Saharanpur. Bhim Army rally inJantar Mantar, New Delhi in 2017 was attended by a large crowd,[10] estimated to be 10,000 byDelhi Police.
In August 2019, the Bhim Army took part in nationwide Dalit protests against the demolition ofShri Guru Ravidas Gurughar, a temple dedicated toSant Ravidas inTughlaqabad,Delhi, on the orders of theDelhi Development Authority (DDA), following lengthy litigation between the DDA and Guru Ravidas Jainti Samaroh Samiti.[11] Dozens of people, including Chandrashekhar and Vinay Ratan, were arrested by police, prompting the Bhim Army to demand their release.[12]
In March 2020, Chandrashekhar announced that the Bhim Army would formally enter electoral politics. The group previously operated as a quasi-political force. Chandrashekhar stated that "We tried to join hands and work unitedly with theBahujan Samaj Party but its leader was unwilling to do so." Chandrashekhar said the new political party would set up an office inLucknow and work to counter the ruling BJP. Chandrashekhar has described the BJP as his chief political adversary, but has also competed withMayawati, the leader of theBahujan Samaj Party.[13]
The Bhim Army opposes the BJP'sCitizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) legislation[14] In January and February 2020, the Bhim Army engaged in theprotests against the CAA and sought its repeal.[15][16] In February 2020, street clashes took place between pro-CAA BJP supporters and Bhim Army supporters in connection with theNorth East Delhi riots; both sides engaged in stone-pelting.[17]
| Year | Legislature | Party leader | Pre-poll alliance | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Total votes | Overall vote % | Vote swing | Outcome | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 18th Lok Sabha | Chandrashekhar Azad |  | 2 | 1 / 543 |  1 | 5,12,552 | 0.58% | New | Opposition | [18] |
| Year | Party leader | Pre-poll alliance | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Total votes | Overall vote % | Vote swing | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bihar | |||||||||
| 2025 | GDA | 25 | 0 / 243 | | new | | |||
| Delhi | |||||||||
| 2025 | | 15 | 0 / 70 | | 3018 | new | | ||
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||||||||
| 2024 | | 3 | 0 / 90 | | 2,191 | 0% | new | | |
| Jharkhand | |||||||||
| 2024 | | 17 | 0 / 81 | | 71,433 | 0.41% | new | | |
| Haryana | |||||||||
| 2024 | JJP+ | 12 | 0 / 90 | | 19,534 | 0.1% | new | | |
| Madhya Pradesh | |||||||||
| 2023 | | 86 | 0 / 230 | | 142,421 | 0.33% | new | | |
| Maharashtra | |||||||||
| 2024 | | 40 | 0 / 288 | new | |||||
| Punjab | |||||||||
| 2022 | | 8 | 0 / 117 | | 3,478 | 0.02% | new | | |
| Rajasthan | |||||||||
| 2023 | RLP+ | 48 | 0 / 200 | | 355,259 | 0.89% | new | | |
| Telangana | |||||||||
| 2023 | | 4 | 0 / 119 | | 1,002 | 0% | new | | |
| Uttarakhand | |||||||||
| 2022 | | 13 | 0 / 70 | | 34,109 | 0.63% | new | | |
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||
| 2022 | Chandrashekhar Azad | | 110 | 0 / 403 | | 119,170 | 0.13% | new | |
On 15 March 2020, Chandrashekhar officially announced his new political party named Azad Samaj Party. As many as 78 former leaders of theSamajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party andIndian National Congress joined the newly launched party.[19]Chandra Shekhar Aazad officially announced the formation of his new political party, named Azad Samaj Party, on 15 March 2020. A total of 98 former leaders from theSamajwadi Party,Bhartiya Janta Party,Indian National Congress, andRashtriya Lok Dal joined the newly launched party.[20]
On 27 October, the Azad Samaj Party formed an alliance with theRashtriya Loktantrik Party for the2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections.[21]
The party's leader Chandershekar Azad is the party's first Member of Parliament and is elected from nagina lok sabha constituency.[22][23]
| S.No | Election Year | Portrait | MP | Constituency | Lok Sabha | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2024 | .jpg) | Chandrashekhar Azad | Nagina | 18th Lok Sabha | 1,51,473 |
The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has state units in Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, and other states.
| State | State President |
|---|---|
| Madhya Pradesh | Satyendra Vidrohi |
| Uttar Pradesh | Sunil Kumar Chittod |
| Uttarakhand | Mahak Singh |
| Bihar | Jauhar Azad |
| Jharkhand | Kasif Raza |
| Rajasthan | Amarchand Harsolia |
| Haryana | Rame Pradhan |
| Delhi | Balakram Bauddh |
| Maharashtra | Anand Londhe |