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Chandrashekhar Azad (born 3 December 1986), also known as Chandra Shekhar Azad Ravan, is an Indian politician, social activist, Ambedkarite and lawyer. He is serving as a Member of Parliament of the 18th Lok Sabha from Nagina since June 2024. He is the chief and co-founder of the Bhim Army,[1] and the National President of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram). In February 2021, Time magazine featured him in its annual list of 100 Emerging Leaders who are Shaping the Future.[2]
Chandrashekhar Azad | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Azad in 2021 | |
| National President of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) | |
| Assumed office 15 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Leader of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Chief of the Bhim Army | |
| Assumed office 21 July 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Girish Chandra |
| Constituency | Nagina, Uttar Pradesh |
| Majority | 1,51,473 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 December 1986 Chhutmalpur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Nationality |  Indian |
| Political party | Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) |
| Spouse |
Vandna Kumari (m. 2020) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Govardhan Das (father) Kamlesh Devi (mother) |
| Residence | Chhutmalpur |
| Education | B.A. Hons. & L.L.B. |
| Alma mater | Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University |
| Occupation | Politician, lawyer, social activist |
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| # | From | To | Position | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 4 June 2024 | Incumbent | Member of Parliament, 18th Lok Sabha | |
| 02 | 14 August 2024 | Incumbent | Member of the committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and scheduled Tribes | |
| 03 | 26 September 2024 | Incumbent | Member of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs | |
Chandrashekhar Azad was born on 3 December 1986, in Dhadkuli village near Chhutmalpur in Saharanpur, Western Uttar Pradesh.[3] Growing up in a Dalit family, Azad experienced caste-based discrimination, which influenced his early interest in social justice and advocacy.[4][5][6] His father, Govardhan Das, retired as a principal of a government school. Azad came to prominence as a Bahujan leader after he installed a hoarding titled The Great Chamars of Ghadkhauli Welcome You on the outskirts of his village. Chandra Shekhar Azad started free coaching classes for all categories and distributed free books for poor students to study.[7][8][9]
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Azad, Satish Kumar, and Vinay Ratan Singh founded Bhim Army in 2014, an organisation that works for the emancipation of Dalits through education in India. It runs free schools for Dalits in western Uttar Pradesh.[citation needed]
In 2020, he founded the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).
5656 UP legislative Assembly elections, he contested the Gorakhpur Urban Assembly constituency against Yogi Adityanath, with Azad getting 3.06% of the vote share and losing his deposit.
In the 2024 Indian general election in Uttar Pradesh, Azad Samaj Party (ASP) candidate Chandrashekhar Azad won the Nagina Lok Sabha constituency by 1,51,473 votes. He got 5,12,552 votes. BJP's Om Kumar came second, who got 3,61,079 votes.[10][11][12]
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- He was arrested in relation to the Saharanpur violence incident.[13] Azad was arrested under the National Security Act by the Uttar Pradesh Government. Afterwards he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court after his lawyer argued that the arrests were politically motivated.[14]
- Delhi Police had denied permission to Chandrashekhar Azad's protest march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act from Delhi Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar. He entered into protest at Jama Masjid and was arrested by Delhi police and detained for several days.[15]
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