Naitik Party to Contest All Assembly Seats in Uttar Pradesh: Pandey

New Delhi (RNI) Chandra Bhushan Pandey, chief of the Naitik Party and a former judge, has said that his party will field candidates in all 403 constituencies in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Mr. Pandey, founder of the Rashtriya Vikalp Morcha, made the remarks during an interview. He said that the majority of the people in Uttar Pradesh have grown disillusioned with the BJP’s rule and are now looking for an alternative. He added that this was the impression he gathered during his extensive tours across the state.

Mr. Pandey said that the resentment among a large section of the population is directed not only against the BJP but also against the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). According to him, during the rule of these parties, development was largely confined to three or four castes, while more than 200 other castes, including Brahmins, remained far removed from the benefits of development. He claimed that the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that these communities are now living a life marked by neglect and indignity.

Responding to a question, Mr. Pandey said that the Brahmins of Uttar Pradesh never compromise on issues of insult and humiliation and know how to chart their own course. He cautioned political parties and leaders against remaining under any illusion in this regard. According to him, the ruling BJP in the state believes that Brahmins have no political alternative apart from the party, which he described as its biggest mistake. He said that the Rashtriya Vikalp Morcha, under the leadership of Anil Mishra, is now prepared to challenge them at the national level.

Mr. Pandey asserted that in the Assembly elections scheduled for next year, more than 200 castes that have remained outside the development process, including Brahmins, will reject these political parties and establish a new political equation for the country.

In response to another question, former judge Mr. Pandey alleged that the BJP, which has remained in power for a decade on the basis of issues such as the alleged corruption of UPA-II and Hindu-Muslim polarization, now seeks to govern by creating divisions within society under the guise of laws and policies related to the UGC, SC/ST, and NRC. He maintained that Indian society would never accept such an approach. L.S.