After maintaining suspense for over an year, the prodigal son of National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Om Prakash Rajbhar is back. On Sunday morning Home Minister Amit Shah announced Rajbhar’s entry into the NDA fold. This is another setback for Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on the second consecutive day as Rajbhar had contested the 2022 assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh with him.
Om Prakash Rajbhar, the president of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), on Sunday said that to fight for social justice, welfare of backward, Dalit and women, his party has decided to join hands with Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). A day before another prominent backward leader and sitting legislator Dara Singh Chauhan had left Samajwadi Party to join BJP. Chauhan would officially join BJP on Monday.
Rajbhar had met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Saturday and discussed the alliance and his role in the UP Politics. According to senior BJP leaders, while Om Prakash Rajbhar is likely to be inducted in the UP cabinet, his son Arun Rajbhar might get a BJP ticket in the LS by poll of Ghazipur seat. Ghazipur seat has fallen vacant after the disqualification of BSP MP Afzal Ansari in a criminal case.
Rajbhar during his discussion with Shah has also demanded at least three LS seats to contest in the coming general elections. He has demanded two seats in UP and one in Bihar. A senior leader in UP BJP said that no assurance has been given regarding the LS seats but SBSP would be accommodated with a minimum one seat in the 2024 LS polls.
Keshav Prasad Maurya has welcomed the entry of Om Prakash Rajbhar
The Deputy Chief Minister of UP, Keshav Prasad Maurya has welcomed the entry of Om Prakash Rajbhar in the NDA fold. BJP spokesperson Alok Awasthi said that Rajbhar will strengthen the NDA in UP and the country.
It may be mentioned that Rajbhar’s SBSP was with NDA till 2019 and contested the 2017 UP assembly polls together. Rajbhar was made cabinet minister in the previous regime of Yogi Government. However, he had parted ways in the 2019 LS election after being denied a single seat to contest. Later on he forged alliance with SP and contested 2022 UP assembly polls together. Soon after assembly elections were over, Rajbhar developed cold feet with SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav and decided to support BJP in presidential elections and other occasions. For the last one year rumors were on the rife over his joining NDA.
