Akhilesh, Jayant, Chandra Shekhar to visit Mhow to pay tribute to Ambedkar

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary and Chandra Shekhar Azad, founder of the Azad Samaj Party will fly down to Mhow town in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Friday to offer tributes to Dr B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary in his home town.

According to sources, the three leaders will offer floral tributes and garland the Dalit leader's statue of Ambedkar.

The exercise is being seen a part of Dalit outreach by Samajwadi Party and its allies, ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Samajwadi Party sources said that though no rally is scheduled, the leaders may address the gathering impromptu.

The SP-RLD alliance has roped in Chandra Shekhar Azad to rope in Dalits in west UP, in particular, and the entire state, in general.

The SP leaders see the present political scenario as a conducive social atmosphere to bring together the followers of Lohia and Ambedkar once again.

They are confident that their efforts will yield better results than ever before.

Three such attempts have been made in the past. The first one was in 1956 when Bhimrao Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia planned a meeting to work together for the cause of social justice. However, Ambedkar passed away before the meeting could be held.

In 1992, Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Singh Yadav got together. The third attempt was made when Akhilesh Yadav entered an alliance with Mayawati in 2019.

This time, the difference is that more Dalits are disillusioned with the BSP-the party they earlier identified themselves with.

Akhilesh has been trying to build bridges with Dalits.

Recently, he unveiled a statue of late Kanshi Ram in Rae Bareli. He has also been promoting party MLA Avadhesh Prasad as the Dalit face of SP.

SP's outreach is a part of its strategy that was formulated in 2021 when the SP chief floated a separate wing by the name of Babasaheb Vahini on Ambedkar Jayanti.