Days after the high-profile switch of Congress leader and former union minister RPN Singh to the saffron party, former education minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party government, Rangnath Mishra, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party amid the buzz that he, or any of his family, could now be fielded by the party from the Bhadohi assembly seat.
During the joining function at the UP BJP headquarters in Lucknow, some BJP leaders were seen referring to Mishra’s joining as ‘ghar wapsi (homecoming)’ as the former education minister in the Mayawati government (2007-2012), had started his political career with the BJP in the 1980s and had become a lawmaker on a BJP ticket for the first time in 1993.
While welcoming him into the party, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev described him as a “tall Brahmin leader” in east UP, whose joining would help the party in east UP.
Along with him former Samajwadi Party lawmaker Manish Rawat and former SP candidate from Hamirpur, Manoj Kumar, also joined the BJP.
But, the spotlight was clearly on Mishra, a four-term lawmaker who won thrice on a BJP ticket and once on BSP’s, was also a minister in the Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh governments in UP. “He lost an election in 1991 at the peak of the temple movement but such was his proximity to Kalyan Singh that he subsequently contested and won in 1993,” a BJP leader said.
On his part, Mishra merely smiled and flashed the victory sign amid speculations that he would come handy for the BJP in eastern UP, where, after the rebellion of Swami Prasad Maurya, the state’s labour minister, the ruling party was now looking to consolidate itself in the region. Maurya joined the Samajwadi Party and triggered a flurry of resignations in the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}On his part, Mishra merely smiled and flashed the victory sign amid speculations that he would come handy for the BJP in eastern UP, where, after the rebellion of Swami Prasad Maurya, the state’s labour minister, the ruling party was now looking to consolidate itself in the region. Maurya joined the Samajwadi Party and triggered a flurry of resignations in the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Mishra had quit the BJP in 2005 and joined the BSP and subsequently became a cabinet minister in the BSP government under Mayawati. He was given the secondary education department and was regarded among the most influential ministers of the BSP.
“Possibly he was among the tallest Brahmin leaders of BSP in east UP of that time,” a BJP leader said. Since then, Mishra lost two successive elections in 2012 and 2017 but BJP leaders said his joining would help the party in eastern UP while negating the “opposition canard” of Brahmins being unhappy with the party.
“It is said that it was on his push that Bhadohi district was carved out of Varanasi. In Bhadohi, he was immensely popular, especially after his successful intervention in checking fleecing of auto drivers by the police,” a senior BJP functionary said.