Independent legislator and former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya said on Friday he will form a new political party amid speculations he might support or contest the Lok Sabha election next year in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I have completed 25 years in politics, have been an Independent politician and MLA, so now have decided to form a political party. I have approached the Election Commission for registration,” Raja Bhaiya was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
There are three names that have been suggested for the party, including the Jansatta Party, but the leader is awaiting a formal consent from the poll watchdog.
A scion of royal Bhadri estate, Raja Bhaiya was a minister in the governments led by Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh. After Mayawati took over as the chief minister in 2003, she slapped the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) against Raja Bhaiya.
He was sent to jail and after his release, he again became a minister in the Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav governments.
He had to resign after the murder of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Zia-ul-Haq in Kunda and was re-inducted after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cleared him in the case.
{{/usCountry}}He had to resign after the murder of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Zia-ul-Haq in Kunda and was re-inducted after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cleared him in the case.
{{/usCountry}}