Rajbhar’s SBSP breaks ties with Samajwadi Party
Rajbhar’s comments came after the Samajwadi Party signalling a break-up of the Opposition alliance told him and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they were free to go
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday hinted at a possible alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) soon after the Samajwadi Party (SP) set him free to leave the alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.
Rajbhar’s comments came after the Samajwadi Party signalling a break-up of the Opposition alliance told him and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they were free to go. The development came days after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, who defeated Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition nominee supported by the SP.
“We have accepted the divorce that he (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) has given today,” Rajbhar told reporters.
When asked about his next step, the 59-year-old OBC (other backward classes) leader said he will hold talks with the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party. “Agla kadam — BSP (the next step is the BSP). Have patience, we will hold another press conference when the time comes,” he said in response to a question if he already held talks with the BSP.
Earlier in the day, the SP shot off a letter in Hindi to Rajbhar. “Om Prakash Rajbhar, Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the BJP. You have an alliance with the BJP and are continuously working to strengthen the BJP,” the letter stated. “If you think that you will get more respect, then you are free to go there.”
Similarly, in a letter in Hindi to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) chief Shivpal Yadav, the SP said, “Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav, if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere, then you are free to go there.”
Speculations of a rift within the Opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh have been doing the rounds ever since Rajbhar met chief minister Yogi Adityanath in the run-up to the presidential poll.
“It is bad if I meet Yogi (CM Yogi Adityanath) but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him,” Rajbhar said and warned that the effect of the SP chief’s action will be “known by the 2024 (Lok Sabha) elections”.
“So far as meeting the BJP leaders is considered, I have been meeting leaders from all parties, and will continue to do so,” he added.
Rajbhar, an OBC leader with a sizeable base in eastern Uttar Pradesh districts, was a BJP ally in the 2017 state assembly polls and was even a minister during Adityanath’s first stint as the CM. The leader fell out of favour with the BJP leadership over his constant criticism of the party alleging it was not doing enough for the welfare of the backward classes. After the BJP won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rajbhar was sacked from the Adityanath cabinet.
Ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, Rajbhar joined hands with the SP. His party won six seats in the elections.
Shivpal Yadav replied tersely to the SP’s move. “Although I was always free, I sincerely thank the Samajwadi Party from the heart for giving me formal independence by issuing a letter. Compromising on principles and respect is unacceptable in a political journey,” he tweeted in Hindi.
Ahead of the presidential election, Shivpal Yadav had said he would vote for Murmu and blamed his nephew Akhilesh Yadav’s “political immaturity” for allies leaving him.
“Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has sought my vote and I have decided that I will vote for Murmu,” Shivpal Yadav told reporters on July 9. “I had already said the person who will seek my vote will get it. (President) Ram Nath Kovind had twice sought my vote (during the previous presidential poll) and I had supported him.”
The 67-year-old leader’s remarks had come a day after Shivpal Yadav, who is a Samajwadi Party legislator, along with Rajbhar, attended a dinner hosted by Adityanath in honour of Murmu.
The uncle and nephew had a bitter fall out over control of the SP before the 2017 assembly elections. But the two leaders reunited ahead of the assembly elections earlier this year in which Shivpal Yadav won from his traditional Jaswant Nagar seat in Etawah on an SP ticket.
