LUCK: In a jolt for the BSP on Wednesday, four of the 10 MLAs who had proposed the name of the party’s only candidate in next month’s Rajya Sabha polls withdrew their support amid signs that they might switch sides.
The four MLAs were reportedly accompanied by two others when they met with the returning officer and told him in writing that their signatures on the party leader Ramji Gautam’s nomination papers were “forged”.
One of the rebels admitted that he met the chairman of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, while others in the group of six – a third of the total BSP force in the assembly – expressed dissatisfaction with the way their own party treated them. .
However, they did not specifically target Bahujan Samaj Party supreme Mayawati.
Without naming names, a BSP leader indirectly blamed the dramatic development on the SP, with whom Mayawati’s party allied itself during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The RO has yet to make a decision, but if the falsification claim of four of Gautam’s 10 proponents is accepted, it could lead to their disqualification.
The BSP had sent Gautam, its national coordinator and Bihar in charge of the biennial elections on 9 November for the 10 Uttar Pradesh seats left vacant in the Rajya Sabha.
The BSP does not have the numbers in the assembly to win an RS seat on its own, but party leaders had indicated that it could gain the support of other non-BJP parties in the state.
The four MLAs who submitted an affidavit saying their signatures were forged are Aslam Raini, Aslam Chaudhary, Mujtaba Siddiqui and Hakim Lal Bind. Along with them, two others, Hargovind Bhargava and Sushma Patel, also met with the return officer, Raini told reporters.
The scrutiny of the nominations will take place on Wednesday, according to the election calendar.
Raini and Mujtaba Siddiqui told reporters they were unhappy with the “interference” from BSP coordinators. “There is no respect in the game for us. I recently complained about a personal problem with our leader Lalji Verma, but to no avail. ”
Allahabad MLA Siddiqui said, while making it clear that he had no complaints against Mayawati. Mujtaba said he has been with the party for 25 years and is a three-term MLA.
Shravasti MLA Aslam Raini said when he recently contracted coronavirus and posted a video clip of the hospital, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath he came to his aid and this was not to the liking of his own party men.
“I was at the hospital and the BSP coordinators were moving around my constituency telling people not to comply with their MLA,” he said.
“It is the same problem with all six. Behenji (Mayawati) is not to be blamed, but the coordinators have acted in a way that has depressed us and we think what good is staying with that party, ”said the MLA.
When asked about the future course of action, Raini said there is a general impression that the head of the SP, Akhilesh Yadav, respects the men of his party.
There were also reports that after meeting with the returning officer, the BSP MLAs went to the Samajwadi Party office to meet with Yadav. Later, two of them told reporters that there was no such meeting.
Sushma Patel, however, admitted to having met the head of SP whom she claimed had called them. But she declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, senior BSP and MLA leader Uma Shankar Singh indirectly blamed the SP for the events on Wednesday.
Singh claimed that industrialist Prakash Bajaj’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha, which was filled just “two minutes” before Tuesday’s deadline, was part of a “conspiracy.”
Bajaj is competing as an independent.
“They want to buy MLA and felt why not reject the nomination of the BSP candidate,” said Singh.
He said the rebels were with party workers until the morning and wondered what could have happened in a short time to change their minds.
“They were with us throughout the nomination process. We have sent the photos of the nomination to the Returning Officer, ”he said, stating that the MLAs were present when Gautam’s documents were presented.
“If they had any objection, they should have turned it in to the RO before yesterday. Why now? ”Singh questioned.
“Everyone knows how this has happened. They cannot take such a big step without any appeal. They should say how much they got, ”Singh added, hinting at an MLA negotiation.
In total, 11 candidates, including eight from the BJP, have submitted their papers for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh that go to the polls in the biennial elections.
Given the overwhelming force of the BJP in the UP Assembly, all eight candidates, including Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, presented by the ruling party, are expected to be elected.
Of the 10 Rajya Sabha of Uttar Pradesh seats that remain vacant, three were previously held by the BJP, four by the SP, two by the BSP and one by Congress.
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