BSP’s Dinkar elected Leader of Opposition

LUCKNOW: Mayawati loyalist Gayacharan Dinkar, 55, was elected leader of BSP legislature party on Friday. He will also be leader of the opposition in the assembly.

LUCKNOW: Mayawati loyalist Gayacharan Dinkar, 55, was elected leader of BSP legislature party on Friday. He will also be leader of the opposition in the assembly. The post had fallen vacant after Swami Prasad Maurya quit the BSP on Wednesday.

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Dinkar, a Dalit and sitting MLA from Naraini assembly seat, was elected unanimously at a meeting of BSP MLAs under the chairmanship of Mayawati.

Rattled by Maurya’s revolt, Mayawati also revoked the expulsion orders of two rebel legislators — Pallia (Lakhimpur Kheri) MLA Harvinder Kumar Sahani alias Romi Sahani and Bilgram Mallava (Hardoi) legislator Brijesh Kumar Verma — in quick succession. The development came even as Maurya claimed that only 55 of the 80 MLAs turned up for a legislature party meeting.

Mayawati also termed Maurya a traitor and a selfish person who was trying to promote his children in politics. Maurya hit back, calling her a power broker who sold the mission of Bhimrao Ambedkar and BSP founder Kanshi Ram to serve her vested political interests. Maurya alleged that she was selling tickets for the 2017 assembly election to candidates.