Q: Did you ever approach her?
Udit Raj: No, I did not do that. I know she despises me. In 2009, when my party was fighting elections, one of my candidates Bahadur Sonkar of Jaunpur was killed. In fact, everybody knew at that time that he was going to be killed. We tried to approach the administration of the district but he was hanged to the tree. Even my brother, who lives in Lucknow, was attacked four0five times and no FIR was lodged. After that, the security was provided by the govt. It's because of the security that I'm surviving. In 2008 when I was leading a demonstration in Lucknow, I was arrested and beaten up very badly in police lines. As long as she was CM of UP, the state was very unsafe for me.
Q: Before the general elections, three prominent Dalit leaders joined hands with BJP – Ramvilas Paswan, Ramdas Athavle and Udit Raj. Is it signaling a new direction to Dalit politics in the country?
Udit Raj: Yes, indeed. That's correct.
Q: So what is it in Narendra Modi or BJP or that is attracting Dalits to them?
Udit Raj: BJP is no longer a party of upper castes. Earlier it was perceived that the party belongs to the upper castes but this perception has been broken. And dalit this time have voted in large numbers for the BJP.
