SP-BSP patchup leaves turncoats on uneasy turf

Lucknow: The new friendship between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has created a piquant situation for those leaders who had quit one party to join the other.

These leaders had quit the SP or the BSP to join the other party and had issued statements against the leaders but are now facing a dilemma after the patch-up between the SP and the BSP.

The most glaring example of this being Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiyya, who was booked under Pota by the then UP chief minister Mayawati in 2002. When Raja Bhaiyya was released in 2004, he joined hands with the SP.

Fourteen years later, Raja Bhaiyya, who admitted that he was upset with the SP-BSP alliance and would never support BSP, finally burnt his bridges with the SP when he reportedly voted for the BJP in last week’s Rajya Sabha elections.

Another leader who is visibly uncomfortable with the new friendship is Ambica Chaudhary, a former SP leader. Mr Chaudhary severed his 25-year-long relationship and joined the BSP last year after Akhilesh Yadav, former UP CM, took over the reins of the party and denied ticket to Mr Chaudhary.

Though Mr Chaudhary was unavailable for comment, one of his supporters said, “There is no denying the fact that the present situation is uncomfortable for us. We will wait and watch how things unfold before deciding on the next course of action”.

Similarly, mafia don-turned- politician Mukhtar Ansari had joined the BSP last year after being spurned by SP. Mr Mukhtar Ansari, his brothers Afzal Ansari, Sigbatullah Ansari and son Abbas Ansari are also uncomfortable with the SP-BSP relationship.

Finding themselves in a similar situation are former BSP leaders Inderjit Saroj and Insram Ali who had joined the SP a few months ago. Mr Inderjit Saroj was one of the senior most leaders in the BSP and when he quit the party, he levelled several allegations against the BSP leadership.