After Resignation Of Legislative Party Leader Shah Alam, BSP Left With Only Six MLAs In UP Assembly Of 403

In yet another blow for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, BSP MLA from Mubarakpur assembly seat of Azamgarh and leader of the BSP legislative party in UP assembly, Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali, resigned from his post on Thursday (25 November), and from the party.

BSP chief Mayawati had recently, after expelling Lalji Verma and Ram Achal Rajbhar from the party, made Shah Alam the leader of the legislative party in the UP assembly. Many UP-watchers are speculating that Alam is likely to join the Samajwadi Party (SP).

In his resignation letter, Shah Alam, addressing the BSP chief, claimed that his decision was due to Mayawati’s lack of trust in him and on his devotion to the party. However, in response to Shah Alam’s resignation, BSP issued a statement in the evening saying that a former female employee of Alam had filed a case of molestation against him, and he was putting pressure on Mayawati to get it withdrawn.

“Don’t Want To Be A Burden On The Party”

Shah Alam remarked, “Behenji, I will always be indebted to you for reposing faith in me and giving me the chance to contest from Mubarakpur in 2012 and 2017 and the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat in 2014. Among these three elections, I won from Mubarakpur twice but lost the Lok Sabha polls by a margin of 2,70,000 votes. I remained in the party from 2012 with honesty without indulging in deceit, remained loyal to you and gave my 100% to the responsibilities given to me."

"But I am saying with a heavy heart that in my meeting with you on November 21, I felt that you are not satisfied despite my devotion and sincerity towards the party. And after thinking about the discussion we had in the meeting, I feel that I am a burden on you and your party if my leader is not satisfied with me or my work," he added.

BSP’s Response To Alam’s Resignation

Following Alam’s resignation, the party in an official statement said that the real reason behind Alam’s resignation is not the alleged “lack of trust”, but a complaint filed by a girl who worked in his firm. Mayawati has made serious allegations against Alam. As per the issued statement, Guddu Jamali has left the party because a young woman working in his company has filed a case against him levelling serious allegations over his character, and the case is currently under investigation. Alam had himself informed the party of this development.

Referring to Mayawati, the statement reads, “After this incident, he had been putting pressure on me (Mayawati) to speak to the chief minister and get this case ‘managed’. He has also met me recently to discuss this. I had then told him that since it is a matter pertaining to a girl, it would be better that if he does not get justice in the investigation, then he should approach the court but he should not pressure me to get the case closed.”

The statement added that Shah Alam had since then been threatening to leave the party if his work was not done, which he finally did on Thursday.

It was in the month of February last year that a girl lodged an FIR against BSP MLA Shah Alam at Gomtinagar police station, Lucknow, and accused him of molestation and threats. The girl alleged that Shah Alam had assured her a job in the company on a salary of Rs 40,000. After this, he got her the post of deputy manager, but then started molesting her. The girl has also accused Shah Alam of being involved in illegal registration of expensive flats at low prices.

Shah Alam is the CMD of Purvanchal Projects Private Limited Company, the firm where the alleged victim was an employee. Along with the MLA, the victim has also named the company's AGM Akshit Kapoor and HR Manager Sumita.

BSP Left With Six MLAs Only

After Alam’s exit, the BSP has now merely 6 MLAs in the Assembly. In October 2020, Mayawati had suspended Hakim Lal Bind, Vandan Singh, Ramveer Upadhyay, Anil Kumar Singh, Aslam Raini, Aslam Ali, Mujtaba Siddiqui, Hargovind Bhargava, and Shushma Patel ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls for colluding with the SP to defeat BSP’s candidate Ramji Gautam. All these later joined the SP.

In June this year, the BSP chief sacked two more MLAs, including then legislative party leader Lalji Verma who also joined SP, for indulging in anti-party activities during the panchayat elections. Last month, the party snubbed don-turned-politician MLA Mukhtar Ansari as the BSP chief refused him a ticket for the upcoming elections. A day prior to Shah Alam’s exit, BSP MLA from Sagari legislative seat of Azamgarh, Vandana Singh, defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With the constant departures of its MLAs, the BSP seems to be in a lurch ahead of the UP 2022 assembly elections. As the BSP’s MLA strength plummets, it is certain that this will affect the party’s election prospects in the key state.