Uttar Pradesh: NDA Alliance Strengthens As Rajbhar-Led SBSP Comes On Board

The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, has rejoined the NDA in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha election.

After a meeting on Sunday (16 July), Union home minister Amit Shah announced on Twitter that the SBSP headed by OP Rajbhar, has returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Amit Shah Tweeted, "Shri @oprajbhar ji and I met in Delhi and made the decision to join the NDA alliance led by Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji. I extend a warm welcome to him as a new member of the NDA family."

He added "Rajbhar ji's arrival will bring strength to the NDA in Uttar Pradesh. The efforts of the NDA, under the leadership of Modi ji, towards the betterment of the poor and marginalised will receive even more support."

Rajbhar too expressed his gratitude towards Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for their support.

Rajbhar mentioned that he had a meeting with Amit Shah on 14 July, where they discussed various issues and decided to collaborate for the upcoming 2024 elections.

This alliance is seen as a strategic move to strengthen their political presence and work towards common goals.

The SBSP president, Arvind Rajbhar, stated that the party had previously been in alliance with the NDA in 2017 but separated due to certain issues.

However, this time, the alliance has been formed after resolving those issues.

There were speculations about the SBSP potentially joining the NDA before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

This speculation arose after Rajbhar, a former minister, had a meeting with Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak at the latter's residence in Raj Bhavan Colony, Lucknow.

Both Rajbhar and the SBSP's general secretary, Arun, downplayed the significance of the meeting, referring to it as a "personal meeting."

Pathak has been seen with Rajbhar on multiple occasions.

In addition to Pathak, Yogi Adityanath's transport minister, Daya Shankar Singh, has also been actively involved in trying to establish a pact between the BJP and the SBSP.

The decision regarding the tie-up will be made by the "party high command," as stated by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

There are rumors that the BJP is interested in a Nishad party-like arrangement with Rajbhar.

This includes offering a Lok Sabha ticket from Ghazipur to Rajbhar's son and making Om Prakash a cabinet minister in Yogi 2.0.

Some suggest that the BJP is only willing to give one seat to the SBSP, while the SBSP is pushing for three to four Lok Sabha seats. They argue that the SBSP has the ability to win these seats in association with the BJP.