Cracks surface in Opposition ranks, BJP alliance displays unity as Droupadi Murmu visits Lucknow - Hindustan Times
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Cracks surface in Opposition ranks, BJP alliance displays unity as Droupadi Murmu visits Lucknow

Jul 08, 2022 10:55 PM IST

On Thursday, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Om Prakash Rajbhar had said which way his party’s six MLAs would vote in the presidential election wasn’t decided yet.

Cracks in the Opposition ranks were palpable as key Samajwadi Party (SP) ally Om Prakash Rajbhar of the SBSP and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Yadav on Friday attended a dinner hosted by chief minister Yogi Adityanath for National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu who arrived in Lucknow to seek support for her campaign from lawmakers in the state.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath presenting a model of Ayodhya’s Ram temple to NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, in Lucknow on Friday. (HT PHOTO)
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath presenting a model of Ayodhya’s Ram temple to NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, in Lucknow on Friday. (HT PHOTO)

Unlike the opposition, the BJP allies stood solidly with the alliance and put up banners and posters at several places to welcome Droupadi Murmu.

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The presence of the SP allies at the chief minister’s dinner was a sign that the fragile coalition put together by SP chief for the 2022 U.P. assembly polls was coming unstuck and some partners were keen to move away, according to political experts.

“We were never together,” said Deepak Mishra of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia headed by Shivpal Yadav, who had also backed the NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind, the eventual winner, in 2017. Shivpal had a falling out with Akhilesh before the 2017 assembly polls but mended fences ahead of the 2022 elections only for political differences to crop up after the poll results.

“We knew that SBSP was in touch with BJP,” said Samajwadi Party spokesman IP Singh.

However, Arun Rajbhar, the SBSP general secretary, claimed that merely attending the CM’s dinner for Murmu shouldn’t mean that the alliance was off.

“It is for Akhileshji to tell why we were not invited when opposition candidate Yashwant Sinhaji arrived in Lucknow. Yes, our leader attended CM’s dinner but that could also be courtesy. Why read too much into it,” he said.

On Thursday, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Om Prakash Rajbhar had said which way his party’s six MLAs would vote in the presidential election wasn’t decided yet.

Rajbhar was also absent from the welcome function organised by the Samajwadi Party for opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha on Thursday. He claimed he wasn’t invited, a point he flagged again on Friday.

Former minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh ‘Raja Bhaiya’, the leader of Jansatta Dal (Lok Tantrik) was also spotted at the dinner hosted by chief minister.

“We are backing the NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu,” said Raghuraj Pratap Singh whose party has two MLAs in the U.P. assembly. He confirmed that Shivpal Yadav and OP Rajbhar were there at the CM’s dinner.

“It is due to the selection of the candidate that those parties that aren’t part of the NDA, too, are backing Droupadi Murmu,” Raghuraj Pratap Singh said after the dinner meet.

Asked if Rajbhar and Shivpal had confirmed their vote for Murmu, he said, “They had said so at the meet but it’s better that you confirm it from them.”

U.P. minister Dharampal Singh said, “We have said it before and state it again that it would be nice if the SP and the Congress, too, support the first-ever tribal woman to run for the office of the President.”

However, both the SP and the Congress have announced their backing of opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former U.P. chief minister Mayawati had already declared her party’s support for Murmu.

“We will score a comprehensive win. It would have been nice had all the parties unanimously backed her candidature,” said deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Rajbhar was also absent from the welcome function organised by the Samajwadi Party

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Manish Chandra Pandey is a Lucknow-based Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times’ political bureau in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Along with political reporting, he loves to write offbeat/human interest stories that people connect with. Manish also covers departments. He feels he has a lot to learn not just from veterans, but also from newcomers who make him realise that there is so much to unlearn.

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