Not Offered Single Seat by BJP in UP, SBSP Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar Quits Yogi Govt

Ballia (Uttar Pradesh): Known for blowing hot and cold against ally BJP, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar claimed on Monday that he had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath government and it was up to the saffron party to decide on it.

"I tendered my resignation as minister on April 13. It is up to the BJP to decide whether to accept or reject it," Rajbhar, a cabinet minister in the UP government, told reporters here. "I have nothing to do with the government now," he said.

The SBSP chief alleged the BJP was misusing his party's name and flag in the undergoing election. "Even during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow, they were used. I have filed a complaint in this regard with the Election Commission," Rajbhar said.

Rajbhar has often publicly criticised the BJP, its ally in Uttar Pradesh.

Last month, he said his party will contest the Lok Sabha election in the state alone and announced candidates on 39 seats, prompting BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to say that "Rajbhar has has been with the BJP and will remain with it".

But Rajbhar has continued with his criticism of the BJP, alleging that it was trying to weaken his party.

On Monday, the SBSP chief claimed the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will win more seats than BJP in the state. He also claimed that the BJP was worried over Congress president Rahul Gandhi's continuous attacks on it.

Rajbhar has fielded candidates on some 40 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state after he failed to reach an understanding with the BJP for the Lok Sabha election and has been making adverse comments against the bigger NDA partner.

The Rajbhars constitute 20% of the Purvanchal population and are regarded as the second-most politically dominant community after the Yadavs in eastern UP, parts of which will vote during the sixth and seventh phase polls on May 12 and 19, respectively.

The SBSP won four seats in the 2017 Assembly election in the state.

Rajbhar had said the BJP was under an impression that it could win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state and 400 seats in the country "but the reality will dawn on the party on May 23".