Rajbhar factions queer the pitch for Sep 5 Ghosi bypoll in UP

Amita Verma
Lucknow, Sep 3 (IANS) The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has queered the pitch for the Ghosi by-elections that was being touted as the first electoral face-off between the NDA and newly formed INDIA bloc.

The straight contest between the defending Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Ghosi bypolls has become more interesting after the splinter group of the SBSP -- that claims influence over the Rajbhar community -- announced support for SP candidate Sudhakar Singh.

The Suheldev Swabhiman Party (SSP) is a splinter group of BJP ally, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), and both claim to be custodians of Rajbhar votes.

The SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar is supporting BJP candidate Dara Singh Chauhan who recently returned to BJP after a stint in the Samajwadi Party.

Sudhakar Singh, the SP candidate, is being supported by the SSP.

Dara Singh Chauhan and Sudhakar Singh are one-time MLAs from Ghosi. Chauhan won the seat as SP candidate in 2022 UP Assembly polls while Sudhakar Singh won it as SP candidate in 2012.

SSP general secretary Baliraj Rajbhar has announced support for Sudhakar Singh saying that his party’s support will add to Singh’s victory margin.

SSP came into existence after the 2022 UP Assembly results when Rajbhar parted ways with the Samajwadi Party alliance.

SBSP spokesperson Piyush Mishra insists that “SSP leaders are a spent force and the split was orchestrated by Akhilesh Yadav.”

Dara Singh Chauhan and the SBSP have a similar history since the run-up to the 2022 UP Assembly polls.

Chauhan was a minister in the Yogi government, but shortly before the 2022 polls, he resigned from the post and joined the SP.

SBSP too was earlier a BJP ally but allied with the SP in 2022. Both went back to the BJP camp in July.

Chauhan is an OBC while Sudhakar Singh is a Thakur (upper caste).

By fielding loyalist Sudhakar Singh, Akhilesh Yadav has attempted to try the ‘upper caste+ PDA’ formula in the Ghosi by polls.

The SP has coined the new PDA formula -- ‘Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (backwards, Dalits, minorities) for his party. While the entire state BJP leadership has been campaigning in Ghosi to ensure its victory, INDIA partners, including Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal, have also been campaigning for SP candidate Sudhakar Singh.

The battle for Ghosi looks unpredictable with the two factions of the Rajbhar centric party throwing their weight behind the two candidates.

The BSP is not contesting the bypoll which will, go to polls on September 5 and counting of votes will take place on September 8.