Lucknow, Sept. 9 -- Uttar Pradesh-based political parties - the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Azad Samaj Party (ASP), as well as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and the Nishad party - have started mobilising their cadre for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. Newly appointed BSP national convenor Akash Anand, party president Mayawati's nephew, will launch his party's campaign with the Sarvajan Hitay Yatra from Bhabhua, the district headquarters of Bihar's Kaimur district on September 10. Akash will address a public meeting before the yatra that will pass through various assembly constituencies across Bihar. The BSP has influence over Dalit voters in the Kaimur region, which borders Uttar Pradesh. Going solo, the BSP has decided to field candidates on 243 Bihar seats. "The BSP is working on the Dalit-OBC-Muslim formula," said the BSP's Bihar in-charge Anil Kumar, adding that Akash Anand will lead the party campaign in the state. The BSP is aiming to increase its Bihar tally, he said. The BSP had won one seat, Chainpur, in the Kaimur region in 2020. Later, the BSP's lone MLA Zama Khan defected to the Janata Dal (United) and was made a minister in the Nitish Kumar government. In 2020, the BSP had launched the Grand United Secular Front (GUSF) and had allied with the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Samajwadi Janata Dal (SJD), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Janvadi Party Socialist (JPS). The AIMIM won five assembly seats. The BSP had bagged five seats in the 2000 Bihar assembly election, two seats in 2005 and one seat in an assembly by- poll in 2009. Meanwhile, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief and Uttar Pradesh panchayati raj minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said his party has decided to contest the Bihar polls in alliance with the National Democratic Alliance. He also said several rounds of talks with the top BJP leadership were held and they were assured seats. The seat-sharing formula will be announced soon, he said. The SBSP has planned public meetings and rallies in Bihar. "On September 12, the SBSP will organise its national meeting in Patna to show its strength and set the ball rolling for the assembly election," Rajbhar said. The Azad Samaj Party (ASP) led by Chandra Shekhar Azad, another Dalit-support based party from Uttar Pradesh, will be also in the fray in Bihar. ASP 's Bihar chief Jauhar Azad said the party has decided to field candidates on 100 seats. "There are feelers from INDIA bloc leaders to join their alliance. The ASP is also mulling over launching a third front with AIMIM as well as the Janshakti Janata Dal led by Tej Pratap Yadav, the rebel son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder Lallu Prasad Yadav. The final call will be taken within a week by the party's national chief," he said. The ASP had joined Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) with the Jan Adhikar Party led by Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Bahujan Mukti Party (BMP) in the 2020 Bihar elections, but failed to open its account. Nishad party chief and UP fisheries minister Sanjay Nishad said his party, too, will field candidates in Bihar. After the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VSIP) led by former minister Mukesh Sahani joined the INDIA bloc, Sanjay Nishad hopes to make inroads among the riverine communities in Bihar that constitute 12% of the voters. Talks are on with the NDA to allot seats to the Nishad party, said Sanjay Nishad. If the talks fail, the Nishad party will contest on its own, he said. Political observer SK Thakur said, "The BSP, ASP, SBSP and Nishad party are targeting the OBC and Dalit voters in Bihar. These parties have a support base in the Bihar districts bordering Uttar Pradesh and might make a dent into the National Democratic Alliance and INDIA bloc support base in various assembly constituencies."...