Chandrashekhar's Azad Samaj Party to contest bypolls in 10 Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats

Prayagraj, UP: Lok Sabha MP Chandrashekhar on Saturday said his Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) will contest in the by-elections to 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh as he hit out at the BJP-ruled state government over unemployment, paper leak and law and order issues.

The date for the bypolls has not been announced yet. However, the Samajwadi Party and Congress have announced that they will contest together under the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has also begun its preparations, according to their leaders.

The seats fell vacant after nine assembly members, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were elected to Lok Sabha while SP MLA from Sisamau Irfan Solanki was disqualified after he was sentenced to jail in a criminal case.

Addressing a public meeting at Sarai Nayat under Phulpur assembly constituency in Prayagraj, Chandrashekhar said, "On the strength of the blessings given to us by the people of Nagina, we will contest the by-elections to all 10 assembly seats." "Hooliganism is going on in the state. At some places, people are made to write their names on carts and at other places people are beaten with sticks for demanding their rights," he said.

The Supreme Court has ordered an interim stay on the directives by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, both ruled by the BJP, asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners, the staff and other details. The Opposition claimed the move was intended to promote religious discrimination.

At the public gathering, Chandrashekhar, the Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, said, "Youngsters are desperate for employment and there is no one to listen to them." "After the question paper of the UP police recruitment exam was leaked, the test was cancelled. No one raised the demand for conducting the exam again. I raised this demand repeatedly and now it seems the state government has woken up," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh police constable recruitment exam, which was cancelled in February following allegations of a paper leak, will now be held in August, the state government has said.

Asserting that it is because of the Constitution that people from deprived sections are living a respectful life, Chandrashekhar said, "Unless you have participation in politics, unless there is someone to represent you in the House, your voice cannot be heard." In an apparent reference to the Mayawati-led BSP, he said there are many parties in Uttar Pradesh which have members in the Legislative Assembly, but not one in the Lok Sabha.

"At the same time, a worker of Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has reached the Lok Sabha," the Lok Sabha MP from Nagina said.