Son of suspended BSP MLA from Hathras joins BJP

Ramvir and his family wield considerable clout in and around Hathras, which has grabbed headlines following the gang-rape and murder of a Dalit teenager (19) earlier this week by four upper caste men

Around a month after Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) member of Uttar Pradesh (UP) legislative assembly (MLA) Ramvir Upadhyaya met UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, his son Chiragvir (27) joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday.

BSP chief Mayawati has upped the ante against the UP government. She has demanded that CM Adityanath should resign or be replaced by some other BJP leader following the incident. (AFP)

Ramvir, a former minister and among the select Brahmin faces of the BSP, had won from Sadabad in western UP’s Hathras district in 2017 UP assembly polls. However, he was suspended from the BSP after last year’s parliamentary elections on charges of “indulging in anti-party activities”

Ramvir and his family wield considerable clout in and around Hathras, which has grabbed headlines following the gang-rape and murder of a Dalit teenager (19) earlier this week by four upper caste men.

The incident has sparked a political controversy much to the embarrassment of the UP government.

The BJP was tight-lipped on whether Chiragvir would be deployed for damage control in the aftermath of the Hathras incident.

BSP chief Mayawati has upped the ante against the UP government. She has demanded that CM Adityanath should resign or be replaced by some other BJP leader following the incident.

Chiragvir was slated to join the BJP in Agra in August. But that move was put off at the last moment and on Thursday, the party made an abrupt announcement about its latest Brahmin face.

“As a Ram bhakt, I feel the BJP is the best option to serve the country,” Chiragvir said after joining the party. He cited that he was impressed with the party’s policies and also the style of governance of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Adityanath.

UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh welcomed Chiragvir to the party and hoped that the new entrant would strengthen its base in the western UP region.

In August, Satish Chandra Mishra, national general secretary, BSP, had cleared the air about Chiragvir’s bid to join the BJP and also the political fate of his father.

“Ramvir Upadhyaya had been suspended by the party, as he had engaged in anti-party activities last year by supporting opposition candidates during the parliamentary elections. Neither his, nor his son’s joining (the BJP) will make any difference to our party,” Mishra had said.

Ramvir’s brother Mukul, a former member of UP legislative council (MLC), had also joined the BJP last year.