BJP remembers OBCs only during polls, says former ally Rajbhar
His criticism comes a day after BJP’s two OBC-based allies in U.P. met Amit Shah in Delhi
A day after the BJP’s two OBC-based allies in Uttar Pradesh met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the social gathering’s former ally Om Prakash Rajbhar on Friday accused the BJP of remembering the backward caste individuals only when elections have been close to.
When the social gathering has to elect a Chief Minister, it prefers to carry individuals from exterior, mentioned Mr. Rajbhar, president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party.
An OBC chief himself, with pockets of affect among the many Rajbhar caste in East Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Rajbhar held the submit of Cabinet Minister beneath the Yogi Adityanath authorities until he rebelled earlier than the 2019 Lok Sabha election and was then unceremoniously eliminated. Since then, he has managed to sew collectively a free alliance of half-a-dozen odd smaller events, beneath the banner of the Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha, together with former BSP Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha’s outfit and the AIMIM.
On Thursday, Mirzapur MP Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal and Sanjay Nishad, president of the Nishad Party, and his son, Lok Sabha MP on a BJP ticket Praveen Nishad, met Mr. Shah.
The Apna Dal, which attracts its energy on Kurmi help, has two MPs and 9 MLAs in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Praveen Nishad mentioned they mentioned a number of points with Mr. Shah, together with rights over the allotment of pattas and fishing rights of the riverine Nishad group and the “appropriate respect” to the Nishad Party. The Nishad Party additionally raised the demand of the “Nishad reservation.”
Mr. Shah assured the social gathering that he would look into its calls for and name it once more in a couple of days, mentioned Mr. Praveen Nishad on his Facebook wall.
Alliance choices
Mr. Rajbhar, whose social gathering, sources mentioned, has stored the choices of an alliance open with each the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, took to Twitter and taunted the BJP’s allies.
“The BJP is a sinking ship. Whoever wants to ride its chariot can do so. But I will not ride it. When elections are near, then they remember the backwards,” mentioned Mr. Rajbhar.
He mentioned he was prepared for an alliance with the social gathering that wished to defeat the BJP.
Party sources, nonetheless, mentioned its first choice for alliance was the SP.