Rajbhar ‘meets’ Shah, sets off talks of return to NDA

LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: He stays or crosses over - questions began doing the rounds in political circles after Samajwadi Party ally and

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party

chief

OP Rajbhar

reportedly met Union home minister Amit Shah and other top BJP members in Delhi on Friday.

An influential member of the Rajbhar community, the SBSP chief and his party was with NDA when BJP and its partners won a landslide in the 2017 UP assembly polls, cornering 325 of the 403 seats. Rajbhar parted ways just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and joined ranks with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for the 2022 polls.

Sources in the Rajbhar camp confirmed that he met Shah and others in Delhi, but said it was a "courtesy call" and nothing more. Rajbhar himself denied any such meeting, saying he was with SP and would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with SP.

But BJP sources said Rajbhar might take a U-turn and join the Yogi Adityanath government in UP. They didn't confirm whether it would happen before Yogi and his ministers' swearing-in on March 25 or later.

Sources said BJP's UP election in charge Dharmendra Pradhan and UP general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal were present at Rajbhar's hour-long meeting with Shah. The meeting reportedly focussed on both parties' terms and conditions for SBSP's return to the NDA fold. But BJP and SBSP sources warned that it's too early to confirm anything.

Sources said the BJP leadership might be warming up to Rajbhar to weaken SP in UP's southeastern region where it did well in the recent polls because of its alliance with SBSP. BJP couldn't win a single seat in Azamgarh and Ghazipur and did below par in Ballia and Mau.

As Rajbhars have a strong presence in eastern UP, BJP might not want SBSP in the opposition camp to disturb its chances in the Lok Sabha elections.

Similarly, Rajbhar could be surmising that his party won't gain much by contesting the 2024 polls against BJP, though SBSP could dent the BJP's chances in a few constituencies. But BJP's support could change SBSP's fortunes - at least in one or two constituencies, which means a lot to a small but influential player in a big state like UP that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

As per political observers, Rajbhar's NDA comeback would be a big setback for SP in 2024 and also in elections to the legislative council.