BSP goodbye: MP joins BJP, three more are in negotiations, two more are slated for Congress, and one is for RLD

LUCKNOW: Ritesh Pandey, a member of the BSP from Ambedkarnagar, defected to the BJP on Sunday, according to reports that at least three more MPs from Mayawati’s party are in contact with the saffron camp on a potential move ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Kashi area is home to these three MPs. There are rumors that Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD, which is anticipated to shortly join the BJP-led NDA, is in negotiations with another BSP MP from west UP.

With the Ghazipur MP joining the SP and two more scheduled to join the Congress, Mayawati would only have two of the ten BSP MPs on her side.
BJP claims that opposition politicians are vying for safer seats.

Pandey released his resignation letter on X, imploring BSP President Mayawati to accept it. Pandey joined the BJP in Delhi in the presence of the party’s national vice-president and UP election in-charge Baijayant “Jay” Panda, UP BJP chairman Bhupendra Chaudhary, and deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak. “I haven’t heard from the party leadership or been invited to party meetings in a long time. Pandey stated, “The party does not need my service and presence. I made numerous efforts to get in touch with and meet with you (Mayawati) and the top leadership of the party but it did not yield any result.”

Rakesh Pandey, an SP MLA, is the father of Ritesh. Days have passed since Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party, declared Lalji Verma, an MLA, to be the party’s candidate from Amedkarnagar. Additionally, it coincides with BJP reportedly finalizing its first list of candidates, mostly for the 16 seats it lost to the SP-BSP combination in 2019. The BJP is probably going to release the list around the same time as the election notice, which is anticipated in the second week of March.

Anand Dubey, a BJP spokesman in Uttar Pradesh, greeted Pandey and said opposition party leaders are aware that they would soon lose the lower house elections. “Opposition leaders are scurrying for safer seats or better opportunities as a result.”
According to political analysts, BSP MPs fear a blow to their election prospects as the polling process turned into a straight fight between the NDA and SP-Congress. An expert said, “Polarization of voters between NDA and SP-Congress combine is expected, leaving little chance for BSP candidates to gain.”

Mayawati has said over and again that the BSP would stand alone in the elections. According to observers, the BSP has been cautious about allying with any political body that may ostensibly permit the revival of the SP or Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
In coalition with the SP, the BSP ran in the 2019 elections and won ten seats. Later on, however, Mayawati severed relations.

Crossovers are in full swing this time. The brother of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, Afzal Ansari, the MP for Ghazipur, has joined the SP and won a ticket from the same seat. Kunwar Danish Ali, the MP for Amroha, who was suspended by Mayawati for allegedly engaging in “anti-party” actions, is also expected to join the Congress. On Sunday, Shyam Singh Yadav, a Jaunpur MP, joined Rahul Gandhi in Agra for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.