Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Sunday evening said shots were fired at the party's convoy in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr.
"Opposition parties have been terrified of our candidate in Bulandshahr elections and today's rally worried them, due to which my convoy was fired at in a cowardly manner," Azad tweeted in Hindi. "This shows their desperation... they want the atmosphere to be toxic but we will not let this happen," he added.
Chandrashekhar Azad launched his campaign for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh bypolls by addressing a rally in Bulandshahr in support of his candidate Hazi Yamin on Sunday.
This marks the electoral debut of the Bhim Army which has emerged as a force to reckon with, especially among Dalits, in Uttar Pradesh.
Bhim Army activists had been involved in a door-to-door mobilization to garner support and ensure a massive turnout at the rally at Numaish grounds.
The Bulandshahr seat was held by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Virendra Sirohi whose death in March has necessitated the by-election.
The BJP has fielded Usha Sirohi, wife of the deceased MLA, while the Rashtriya Lok Dal-Samajwadi Party's joint candidate is Praveen Kumar.
The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Shamusddin Raen, while the Congress candidate is Sushil Chaudhary.
The bypolls will be held on November 3 for seven seats.
Chandra Shekhar has already announced that his party will plunge into politics with the name 'Azad Samaj Party', while Bhim Army will continue to work as a parallel outfit.
He had recently travelling to Bihar where he teamed up with Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party and was seen campaigning for the alliance.
(With IANS inputs)
