50 alumni from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) quit their day jobs to form the Bahujan Azad Party (BAP), a new political party that will fight for the rights of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
Speaking to PTI, IIT Delhi graduate Naveen Kumar who is leading the party said “We do not wish to do a hurried job and end up being reduced to just one of those small political outfits with big ambitions. We will begin with contesting the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections and then aim for the next Lok Sabha polls.” The party is currently waiting for approval from the Election Commission of India (ECI), whilst continuing important groundwork at the same time.
Once they receive an official confirmation from the ECI, they will begin campaigning in Bihar. They won’t be contesting in the 2019 general election, however, they will contest the next assembly election which will probably be in 2020.
The members of the group themselves are mostly from the SC, ST and OBC communities, and strongly feel like these backward classes haven’t been paid their dues, and have been victims of improper education and employment.
“Once we have the registration, we will form small units of the party which will start working on the ground for our target groups. We also do not wish to pitch ourselves as a rival of any political party or ideology,” Kumar added.
