Rebel BSP MLAs to form new UP party; Lalji Verma to lead outfit & decide on SP merger

Hours after nine rebel Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) UP MLAs met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday, Bhinga MLA Aslam Rainee claimed the rebels would join hands to form a separate party. Speaking to Republic TV, rebel BSP MLA Aslam Rainee revealed that the rebel MLAs had met the Vidhan Sabha Speaker to discuss the formation of the new party and informed that Lalji Varma would be the chief of the new outfit. 

Rebel BSP MLAs to form new party?

The move of the rebel BSP MLAs to form a separate outfit comes ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Bhinga MLA Aslam Rainee claimed that 11 rebel BSP MLAs reportedly supported the formation of a separate outfit and noted that they are on the lookout for one more MLA to form a new outfit, exuding confidence in finding the new member.  

Rebel BSP MLA Aslam Rainee claimed that the 11 MLAs had no issue with Mayawati but were unhappy with the treatment meted out to Lalji Varma and Ramachal Rajbhar by BSP general Secretary Satish Mishra. Further, Aslam Rainee informed that the new outfit's name and ideology would be decided by Lalji Verma after its formation. On being asked about the rebel MLAs meeting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, MLA Aslam Rainee claimed that his colleagues had showered praise on the former UP CM and said that the decision to merge their party with SP would be taken by Lalji Verma. 

BSP-SP Feud

Over the past four years, Mayawati has expelled as many as eleven rebel BSP MLAs after reports of them jumping ship emerged. The BSP & SP had each witnessed failure in the 2017 UP Assembly polls, owing to the sweeping success of the BJP led by Narendra Modi. BSP has accused SP of luring MLAs over the pretext of financial benefits even as several BSP MLAs switched to SP leaving the Mayawati-led party disintegrating. The two parties had also allied for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but lost. 

UP Assembly Elections 2022

The Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in the month of February to March 2022 to elect 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The tenure of the Yogi government elected in 2017 will expire on March 14, 2022. Yogi Adityanath would be the first BJP Chief Minister to complete the 5-year tenure in UP.  With a few months left to the elections in the state, political parties are gearing up for one of its biggest political battles. Recently, CM Adityanath met PM Modi as 'courtesy meeting' ahead of the UP Polls. In 2017, the BJP had registered a landslide victory polls winning over 300 seats. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, the highest amongst all states.