The Samajwadi Party on Saturday told allies Omprakash Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go, signalling a break-up after the two supported the BJP presidential candidate in the just concluded polls.
In a letter to Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) President Omprakash Rajbhar, the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP said while they are fighting the BJP, Rajbhar ”has a partnership” with the saffron party and was helping it. It asked him to go ”wherever he gets more respect”.
In a similar letter to Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) President Shivpal Singh Yadav, the SP said that ”he can go where he gets more respect”.
The SP shared the letters on its official Twitter handle.
Reacting to the development, Rajbhar told reporters, ”We have accepted the divorce that he (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) has given today.” ”It is bad if I meet Yogi (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) but it is very good if Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet him,” he said and warned the Sp chief that the effect of his action ”will be known by the 2024 elections”.
On the question of his next step, he said that he will hold talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
He also said that ”Shivpal Yadav is our leader and we keep in touch with him”.
The development came after Rajbhar and Shivpal Yadav supported the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu who defeated Yashwant Sinha, the opposition nominee supported by SP.
In a letter written in Hindi sent to Rajbhar, the SP said, ”Shri Omprakash Rajbhar, Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). You have an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and are continuously working to strengthen the BJP.” The SP further said that ”If you think that you will get more respect, then you are free to go there.” In the letter in Hindi sent to Shivpal, SP said, ”Honourable Shivpal Singh Yadav, if you feel that you will get more respect somewhere, then you are free to go there.” Akhilesh Yadav had reached out to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and the latter had won the election from the Jaswant Nagar constituency on the SP symbol. However, the ties remained strained between the two.
In 2018, Shivpal Singh Yadav had formed his new party after he was sidelined by Akhilesh Yadav.
Om Prakash Rajbhar’s proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was clearly visible in the presidential election. Meanwhile, the UP government has provided ‘Y category’ security to Rajbhar.
”Rajbhar was in touch with the BJP ever since the government was formed again under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath and all the senior people of the SP were aware of this, hence the SP remained alert,” senior Samajwadi Party leader IP Singh told PTI on Friday.
After the SP’s defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.
Rajbhar’s party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections in alliance with the state’s main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP).
