BSP chief Mayawati expels Meerut mayor, her husband from party

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday expelled party leader and mayor Sunita Verma and her husband Yogesh Verma for their alleged involvement in anti-party

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday expelled party leader and mayor Sunita Verma and her husband Yogesh Verma for their alleged involvement in anti-party activities.

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Verma, a former MLA, said he had always been a disciplined worker of the party.

“I will discuss the issue with members of our ‘samaj’ (Dalits) and seek guidance for deciding future activities. I will work to carry forward the mission of Kanshiram and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar,” he said.

BSP’s district president in Meerut Subhash Pradhan confirmed that the mayor and her husband had been expelled from the party for their alleged involvement in anti-party activities.

He said: “We complied with the order and don’t know more about the decision.”

This is the second time when Yogesh Verma has been expelled from the party. He was first expelled in 2011 when he was party’s MLA and had a rift with Munkad Ali, the then zonal co-ordinator and currently state president of BSP.

Verma contested the assembly election of 2012 as a candidate of the Peace Party but lost. He rejoined the BSP six months later. In 2019, he contested the Lok Sabha election from Bulandshahr as BSP candidate and was defeated by his rival – BJP leader Bhola Singh.

The former MLA claimed that he ensured the victory of his wife Sunita Verma in the mayor’s election despite pressure tactics of the BJP. “But, there are people in the BSP who don’t want me to be in the party and kept on misguiding Behenji,” he alleged.