Maya gives key roles to two ‘dissidents’

A surprise was in store for the BSP office bearers and leaders, who attended a review meeting chaired by party chief Mayawati at the state unit office on Wednesday.

A surprise was in store for the BSP office bearers and leaders, who attended a review meeting chaired by party chief Mayawati at the state unit office on Wednesday. Instead of taking action against party MP Shyam Singh Yadav and MLA Mohammad Aslam Rainee, Mayawati gave them positions in the organisation.

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Five days ago, BSP MP from Jaunpur Shyam Singh Yadav was in the news for attending a meeting organised by the Samajwadi Party and addressing the SP leaders as bhai (brother).

After breaking her alliance with the SP, Mayawati had launched a scathing attack on the party and blamed Akhilesh Yadav for the alliance’s defeat in the Lok Sabha election. The SP chief had also attacked the BSP thereafter.

The BSP leaders were expecting action against Shyam Singh Yadav on the ground of indiscipline. Although Mayawati removed Yadav from the post of party leader in the Lok Sabha, she appointed him incharge of the reserved assembly seats.

The situation of Aslam Rainee was no different. He had attended the 36-hour special session of the legislative assembly held to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi though BSP had boycotted the session as Mayawati had directed party MLAs to assist flood victims instead.

Instead of taking action against Rainee, the BSP chief entrusted him with the task of gearing up the party cadre for the 2022 assembly election. Rainee said he convinced Mayawati that he did not violate the party direction by attending special session.

“Rather, I highlighted the good governance in the state when Mayawati was the chief minister,” he said.