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UP Polls: These defectors also served, not by contesting, but campaigning
Various political parties inducted leaders from their rival camps, mostly to field them on seats in areas of their influence, in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections
Various political parties inducted leaders from their rival camps, mostly to field them on seats in areas of their influence, in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
There are, however, a number of cases where defectors stayed away from contests and helped their new parties in balancing caste equations by aggressively campaigning in areas of their influence in Uttar Pradesh.
In the case of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it inducted two former union ministers -- Jitin Prasada and RPN Singh -- from the Congress, keeping an eye on elections. Prasada, coming from a well-known Brahmin family, was inducted into the BJP fold in June 2021.
As a Congress leader, Prasada had formed an organisation titled Brahmin Chetna Parishad to take up the case of Brahmins, who he felt were being neglected and victimised during the BJP regime. The BJP made him a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government and nominated him as an MLC, too. So, he did not need to contest the assembly elections. As Prasada was in demand not only in his home district Shahjahanpur, he was seen campaigning in other districts, as well.
Those aware of the developments in BJP, said the party organised at least 20 Prabuddha Sammelans (conference of intellectuals) with Prasada being the main speaker. He went to campaign in at least 60 assembly constituencies and was also seen on the dais during programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Former union minister RPN Singh’s case is no different. Singh, once a strong Congress leader of his region, opted not to contest the elections. Interestingly, he had attended a Congress rally that party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed in Gorakhpur before announcement of elections.
Now, Singh is campaigning in favour of BJP candidates in various assembly constituencies. He has also been seen active on social media, urging people to vote for BJP candidates.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav joined the BJP recently. She did not contest the elections, though she was seen visiting various districts and addressing public meetings in BJP candidates.
“Leaders of different political parties are impressed by the policies of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So they decided to join the BJP. Contesting the election is not the only objective of such leaders, and the party could make use of them for other purposes as well,” said Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesman Avnish Tyagi.
This is not about the BJP alone. There are similar instances in other political parties.
Senior Congress leader Imran Masood was considered very close to the party’s leadership. He, however, decided to join the Samajwadi Party. Masood was considered a strong contender for a party ticket. He was, however, denied a ticket and asked to campaign for party candidates and he did so.
Uttar Pradesh Congress media department chairman Naseemuddin Siddiqui is a senior Congress leader who joined the party from Bahujan Samaj Party before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Siddiqui’s name figures in the list of Congress’ star campaigners in all the seven phases of the UP polls. There were speculations about his interest in contesting the assembly polls. However, Siddiqui is not contesting the election and is seen campaigning for Congress candidates.
