Rebel BSP MLAs meet Akhilesh Yadav: Rebel to float a new party

Lucknow: With assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh around the corner, politics has heated up with reports of 11 suspended MLAs from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) having decided to float a new political outfit before the polls.

All the suspended BSP MLAs have decided to form a new party under the leadership of Lalji Verma who was recently expelled by the party.

Meanwhile there are reports that 9 MLAs suspended from the BSP had also gone to meet Akhilesh Yadav at the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow on Tuesday.  Of the total 18 MLAs of the BSP, nine were suspended and two expelled by the party.

The BSP is on the verge of a major split and these is also speculation that very soon all the rebel MLAs will join the SP and fight the upcoming assembly elections under the banner of the Samajwadi Party.

Shravasti MLA Aslam Raini, who is facing suspension after rebelling against the BSP in the Rajya Sabha elections told media person here on Tuesday that all the 11 rebel MLAs of BSP will form a new political party. Mr Raini said that their leader will be Lalji Verma.

He said along with Lalji Verma, another expelled BSP leader Ram Achal Rajbhar is also with us." We will make Lalji Verma the head of our party.  The 11 MLAs are united now.  Right now we are short of one MLA, due to which a new party is not being formed immediately.  Meanwhile, if one more MLA comes with us, then we will form the party immediately, " Mr Raini disclosed. He said that the name of the new party would be decided by Mr Lalji Verma.

Mr Raini said," we have no complaints with the Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati, but the behavior of party's national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra is not up to the mark".  Raini said Mayawati does only as much as Mr Mishra tells her.

"All 11 MLAs have no problem with Ms Mayawati but everyone is annoyed with Satish Chandra Mishra," he said while added that today there is not a single Muslim with the BSP.

On his meeting with SP president Akhilesh Yadav, Mr Raini said,"we can meet any leader.  Earlier also nine suspended MLAs had met Akhilesh Yadav and have met him even today." 

It has been reported that during the meeting Akhilesh Yadav discussed the 2022 assembly elections with these rebel BSP MLAs. 

First six MLAs went, later three more joined them.  After the meeting, all of them came out of the back gate of the Samajwadi Party office.

It is also reported that now the rebel BSP MLAs have been asked to add more MLAs to their group.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls SP-BSP had an alliance in which SP won five seats and BSP 10. But thereafter dispute arose between Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.

Meanwhile, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav said that entry of rebel MLAs in his party will give a big boost to the Samajwadi Party in its the mission 2022.

The rebel BSP MLAs who met Akhilesh Yadav included Aslam Raini, Aslam Ali, Mujtaba Siddiqui, Hakim Lal, Sushma Patel and Hargovind Bhargava. (UNI)