Abhinav Bharat Party to contest UP assembly elections, demands Bharat Ratna for Savarkar

The Abhinav Bharat Party on Wednesday held its national convention at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow on the death anniversary of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, where it announced its decision to contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled next year and accused the Central government of lacking seriousness in conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar.

Addressing journalists after being unanimously elected as the party’s National President, Chetan Sharma stated that Savarkar founded the Abhinav Bharat organization in his youth to ignite the flame of revolution against colonial rule. He emphasized that Savarkar did not merely dream of independence but endured unimaginable torture in prison, with the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands standing as a testament to his sacrifice and brilliance.

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Sharma also cited RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remark that awarding the Bharat Ratna to Savarkar would enhance the honour of the award itself.

Sharma revealed that last year, the party organized a nationwide “Savarkar Samman Yatra,” during which approximately 800 memorandums addressed to the President of India were submitted across the country, demanding the highest civilian honour for Savarkar. Despite this, he alleged, the Central Government has remained unresponsive, and the party would continue its agitation.

On the electoral front, Sharma announced that the Abhinav Bharat Party is preparing to field candidates in nearly 300 constituencies in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The party’s electoral strategy would be finalized soon, marking its formal entry into the state’s political arena.

Among the key resolutions passed at the convention, Sharma stated that the party would demand that the cow be granted the status of “Mother” and declared the National Animal. He argued that such a move would not merely be symbolic but would ensure stronger legal protection for cows across the country.

The convention began with a tribute to Bharat Mata and the singing of the “Vande Bharat” song, followed by the ceremonial lighting of the lamp. Prominent attendees included Major Ramesh Upadhyay, acquitted in the Malegaon case; former Madhya Pradesh minister Computer Baba; National General Secretary Mamta Jha; National Vice President Dr. Nilendra Gautam; Chitra Dalal; Tribhuvan Das, a disciple of Swaroopanand Maharaj; Kartik Giri; Sarvesh Mishra; Mahamandaleshwar Amreshanand Giri; and party workers and representatives from across the country.