After the dismissal of Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar from the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, trouble seems to be mounting for the sacked minister. While three SBSP MLAs are rumoured to be deserting him for the ruling BJP, the Estate department has issued notice to Rajbhar to vacate the ministerial bungalow within next 15 days.
The SBSP chief, however, denied that his party MLAs were joining the BJP. “An organised disinformation campaign is being unleashed against me and my party by the BJP. There is no truth to the speculations that SBSP MLAs will leave the party. It’s just a rumour. We are together since the days we launched our struggle for the rights and emancipation of the poor, OBCs and disadvantaged sections of the society. There is no question of party MLAs deserting the movement,’’ Rajbhar asserted in a tweet on Wednesday.
Founded in 2002, the SBSP had won four of the eight Assembly seats it contested in 2017 Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP. SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar got a Cabinet berth in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet.
Ever since his induction into the UP Cabinet in March 2017, Rajhbhar has been at loggerheads with the BJP and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He came to be known for making critical statements against the BJP, its brass and the Chief Minister as well.
In April this year, Rajbhar sent his resignation from the Cabinet to the CM and later announced to field 39 candidates on his party symbol in eastern UP Lok Sabha seats.
Ahead of the last phase of polling on May 19, Rajbhar went to the extent of asking his cadres to beat up BJP leaders with shoes.
A day later, on May 20, Rajbhar was dismissed from the Cabinet while seven SBSP leaders, earlier appointed as chairmen of various corporations ahead of the notification of Lok Sabha elections on March 10, were also dismissed.
Reacting to the speculations, SBSP sources said that three MLAs could form a new group and merge the party with the BJP or could directly join the BJP. Anti-defection law would not be applicable to them as they would make up for three-fourths of the party strength, they added. The sources further claimed that the MLAs were annoyed with Rajbhar for ignoring them and promoting his family members within the party. All the three SBSP MLAs in question — Triveni Ram from Jakhania Assembly seat (Ghazipur), Kailash Nath Sonkar from Ajghara seat of Varanasi, and Ramanand Baudh from Ramkola seat in Kushinagar — are Dalits.
