New Delhi: In a career spanning more than half-a-century, Awadhesh Prasad has intimately experienced the tumultuous twists and turns of Indian politics from the vantage point of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
In his initial days as a politician, he had spent time in jail under draconian laws for raising farmers’ issues and then for participating in protests during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. On June 4, the 79-year-old indefatigable Dalit leader finally hit national headlines after he delivered the most embarrassing upset to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 general elections. Prasad defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Faizabad constituency by more than 54,000 votes.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Faizabad (changed to Ayodhya district now) houses the Ram Mandir, which was propagated by the incumbent government as the nation’s biggest symbolic achievement in its quest to implement a Hindu cultural model of rule over millions of citizens and re-visualise Indian history. The defeat has punctured the BJP’s bloated Hindutva card. Political parties rarely field Dalit candidates from unreserved seats, that too, prestigious ones, making Prasad’s feat even more momentous.
Prasad, who walked along with the late Mulayam Singh Yadav in his political journey as a socialist, leading to the formation of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in 1992, is today the senior-most Dalit leader in the party inherited by Yadav’s son, Akhilesh Yadav. He has won nine assembly elections from Sohawal and Milkipur seats, near Ayodhya town, and enjoyed ministerial positions on six occasions under various chief ministers — Ram Naresh Yadav in 1977, Babu Banarasi Das in 1979, Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1989, 1993 and 2003, and Akhilesh Yadav in 2012. He also bore witness to the divisive politics over Ram Mandir played out in his home Faizabad by the Sangh Parivar in the late 1980s till date.
Prasad was born into a Pasi (Dalit) family in 1945 in a village in Sohawal tehsil of Faizabad district, renamed Ayodhya by the BJP government led by Adityanath. He holds an M. A degree in Economics and an LLB from Lucknow University. Before fighting his first election in 1974, Prasad was the founder and manager of an intermediate school named after Chandrashekhar Azad. His long political career followed the unstable trajectory that socialist politics in the state took till the formation of the SP and its growth.
Also read: Those Blaming People of Ayodhya for Election Result Showing ‘Foolishness’: Ram Mandir Chief Priest
In 1974, Prasad unsuccessfully contested the assembly election from Sohawal as a candidate of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal of former Prime Minister Charan Singh. He tasted his first win in 1977 as a Janata Party candidate. However, three years later, he lost again. In 1985, he won back his seat as a Lok Dal candidate. He repeated his performance as a Janata Dal nominee in 1989. The BJP, riding on the communal sentiments generated by the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, emerged as the dominant force and formed the government in UP in 1991. Prasad lost his seat in that election. But he was not to be denied for long as the BJP’s Kalyan Singh resigned as CM after facilitating the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Elections were held in 1993 and as a candidate of the SP, fighting in alliance with the BSP, Prasad won in Sohawal again. He went on to win the seat on three more occasions — 1996, 2002 and 2007. In 2012, after delimitation, he contested from Milkipur constituency, emerging successful as Akhilesh Yadav formed his maiden government with a full majority. In 2017, when Akhilesh lost power, Prasad too lost his seat only to bounce back in 2022.
The veteran politician, a loktantra senani and the newly-elected MP of Faizabad spoke to The Wire on his victory. Excerpts from the conversation.
It seems like you have performed a miracle in Ayodhya.
I have performed no miracle. This is a miracle of Prabhu Shri Ram, Hanuman ji, the godly people of Faizabad and my leader Akhilesh Yadav. I contested the election only as a sewak. And by the grace of Ram, Hanuman and the junta, I won.
You have always been seen as an honest, loyal and grounded leader. But what happened that the people totally rejected the BJP in Faizabad this time and ensured your win by a good margin? Faizabad was not an easy seat.
I am grateful to the people of Faizabad, which is a general seat. I belong to a Scheduled Caste and my sub-caste is Pasi. Akhilesh ji decided to field me from here. He displayed trust in the people as well as me. As far as I know, we have completed 75 years of Independence and also celebrated the Amrit Mahotsav, but in such a time period, no party fielded a reserved candidate like me on a general seat like Faizabad. This was only due to the mentality, ideology and confidence of Akhilesh ji. It was his faith in me and my people. He said he had done the ‘guna bhag’ (caste arithmetic in the constituency) and told me only I would win, no matter who contests from the BJP. And when he came to address a public meeting in Mawai block, while speaking about me from the stage he referred to me as an ex-MLA. I immediately corrected him, saying, ‘I’m still an MLA.’ To this he responded, ‘I called you an ex-MLA because you are going to become an MP!’.
Yes, that video clip became viral on social media.
Yes, it was viral. It was his confidence, and this was from the very beginning. When my name was picked as candidate six months before the election, he told me nobody would be able to defeat me if I contested. I expected Modi sahab to contest from Faizabad. Even the BJP people there expected that to happen. They would tease me every day saying, ‘Arey, bade neta ladenge, ghabraiye mat mantri ji’. I would have been happier had I fought against Modi and got him defeated by the public. My case would have gotten stronger. But what I think is that, they made calculations and on the basis of feedback found that the Opposition’s candidate is rooted, honest, untarnished, is popular among all sections and has never changed his party, flag or leader. They thought the seat was no longer secure. That’s why maybe Modi sahab changed his mind.
Also read: From Kairana to Kushinagar, the BJP Lost Popular Support in All Regions of UP
The BJP made the Ram Mandir its biggest election issue, often sidelining other big issues and concerns of livelihood. Your party’s PDA slogan and campaign was based on addressing basic livelihood issues such as jobs and the rights of OBCs and Dalits. Was the result, in a way, the defeat of Hindutva at the hands of social justice politics? I’m asking this because Ayodhya is not an ordinary seat, it is a message for the entire country.
To say that Hindutva has lost, I cannot appreciate that. I don’t accept this. Am I not a Hindu? Is Akhileshji not a Hindu? Are the 5.5 lakh voters who voted for me not Hindu? We should not think this way.
I meant the Hindutva politics of the BJP.
The BJP’s politics has been swept away along with it. As far as the mandir (temple) goes, they claim that they have built it. The mandir was not built by them but after the judgment and directions of the Supreme Court. No matter which government was ruling the country, the temple would have still been constructed. When the late Mulayam Singh, Netaji was alive, he was often asked about it. He would always say, a temple should be constructed in Ayodhya no doubt; a temple made of gold. But it should be made after mutual agreement or after a court order. Atal Bihari Vajpayee later became the prime minister. The same questions were put before him. When the BJP had governments at the Centre and in the state, people asked him when the temple would be built. They reminded him that the BJP had promised, ‘Ram Lalla Hum Ayenge, Mandir Wahin Banaenge (Lord Ram we will come, we will build the temple here only)’. Vajpayee’s response was also the same. He said the mandir would be constructed through mutual agreement or after a court’s order. Eventually, the mandir was built after the SC’s directions. But it is not even built fully — it’s incomplete. Sadhus and sants (priests and saints) pointed this out on January 22 during the pran pratishtha ceremony. For now, I forward my good wishes. I hope a magnificent temple is built.
Also read: At a Glance: Uttar Pradesh Results Shatter Many BJP Myths
After your win, many elements on social media started a hate campaign against people of Ayodhya, accusing them of betraying Hindus by not voting for the Ram Mandir. Casteist slurs were used against you. How do you see this?
It is the liability of the people sitting in the government to take action in such matters. But about abusing voters, in a democracy, the junta is supreme and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar gave us ballot-based voting rights. Abusing voters is a ‘gaali’ on the verdict of people’s voting rights and Babasaheb’s Constitution. It is an attack on democracy and the rights of people. I would politely and with folded hands plead to these people to give up such feelings. In a democracy, one cannot disregard public opinion. The people’s verdict is obeyed. So many tall personalities have lost elections. Indira Gandhi lost, so did Chaudhary Charan Singh. A democracy has only two sides — loss or defeat. If one loses, to say such things about the person who won and about those who supported them… I ask them to shed this mindset. Only then will democracy in our country be healthy and happy and Babasaheb’s constitution will stay alive. And we will become a strong and blissful country. I pray to Prabhu Shri Ram. Hanuman ji and Saryu Mai (mother river Saryu) that they correct the mentality of such people and develop in them a feeling of harmony. And today is Bada Mangal (a popular festival in and around Lucknow where free community feasts are organised on consecutive Tuesdays for an entire month or longer in reverence of Lord Hanuman).
The result on June 4 also came on a Bada Mangal day.
I went to the Hanuman Setu and was blessed by the darshan of Hanumanji in the morning. I also received his prashad and attended an event organised by someone for Bada Mangal. The votes were counted on a Tuesday and it was also a Tuesday, six months ago, when my leader decided on me as the Faizabad candidate. Mangal (Tuesday) has been mangal (auspicious) for me. From 1974, for many decades, I used to keep a fast on Tuesdays for Hanuman ji. I still receive Hanuman ji’s darshan. Before filing my nomination, I got his darshan and on the day of the counting, at 3 am, before the break of dawn, I paid obeisance to Hanuman ji and sought his aashirwad. It was due to Hanuman ji and Saryu Mai’s grace that I was elected an MLA nine times and a minister six times. Akhilesh ji makes me sit next to me in the Vidhan Sabha, takes me everywhere with him and trusts me. The result for SP has made the party stronger. The SP has emerged as the third biggest force in the Lok Sabha.
You are among the many Pasis who won the election this time on an SP ticket. Does the result reflect the community’s larger acceptance of the party?
The Pasi samaj has had a glorious history. Our predecessor Veerangana Uda Devi (a Dalit woman freedom fighter from Awadh) killed many British soldiers while being perched on a Peepal tree in 1857. Then we have Maharaja Bijli Pasi. Lucknow is named after Maharaja Lakhan Pasi. Our ancestors participated in the fight for independence in large numbers. And for many years I have been demanding that a big hospital — the biggest in the world — be built in the name of Uda Devi Pasi. Poor people from across the country should be provided free treatment and medicines there. It would be an honour not just for Uda Devi but for those who fought for our independence. I raised these in the Uttar Pradesh assembly several times but this government has not paid any heed to it. I will continue to struggle. If our party comes to power in the country, we will build a large hospital after Veerangana Uda Devi Pasi and Jhalkari Bai Kori (another Dalit freedom fighter).
What issues will you raise in parliament?
All questions of welfare and those that benefit people. The land lost by people of Ayodhya and the homes destroyed. People were uprooted without compensation and paid a pittance for it. And all such national issues of the country, after consultation with our national president. We will raise them in national interest, for farmers, for unemployed youth without jobs, and against inflation. We have emerged as a force in Lok Sabha, so you can trust that we will raise these issues.
Read all of The Wire’s reporting on and analysis of the 2024 election results here.