BJP ally SBSP threatens to boycott RS elections
The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party ( SBSP), an ally of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, struck a discordant note on Monday even as the state government celebrated its first year in office.
UP minister and president of SBSP, Om Prakash Rajbhar, on Monday, threatened to boycott the Rajya Sabha biennial polls unless he held talks with BJP president Amit Shah.
If the four- member SBSP does boycott the RS biennial elections, it will be a major setback to the BJP which has fielded an independent candidate Anil Agarwal for the ninth seat. The BJP ( with allies) has only 28 surplus votes which it will give to the independent candidate and if the SBSP stays away with four legislators, it could mean trouble for the independent candidate. He warned that the BJP “will continue to lose elections” if the government does not pull up its socks. “There are grave problems and celebrating and talking about building temples in Mathura and Kashi means nothing. No one else has the guts to question this government and if speaking the truth is revolt then I am revolting” he told reporters.
After the TDP and the Lok Jan Shakti Party, the SBSP is the third BJP ally to openly criticize the ruling party.
Mr Rajbhar, whose party has four MLAs in the UP assembly, said, “What is the use of celebrating one year of this government? We formed an alliance with the BJP because we hoped the BJP would work for the poor, but nothing of that sort is happening. I can say for sure that bribe is being demanded in the villages and people are suffering”.
Mr Rajbhar also did not attend the one year celebrations of the state government on Monday.