In a setback for Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Lok Sabha MP Ritesh Pandey announced his departure from the party and joined the BJP. This move comes amid reports that at least three more BSP MPs are considering a switch to the BJP as the Lok Sabha elections draw closer. All three MPs hail from the Kashi region. Speculation is also rife that another BSP MP from western UP is engaging in back-channel discussions with Jayant Chaudhary”s RLD, which has recently aligned with the BJP-led NDA.
BSP MP Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, who is also the brother of the notorious politician Mukhtar Ansari, has already joined the Samajwadi Party, with plans to contest from the same seat. Similarly, Amroha MP Kunwar Danish Ali, suspended by Mayawati over alleged “anti-party” activities, is likely to join the Congress. Another MP, Shyam Singh Yadav from Jaunpur, participated in Rahul Gandhi”s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Agra and is speculated to be on the verge of joining the Congress.
The BSP had won 10 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections — for which it had tied-up with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party — a significant gain from drawing a blank in the 2014 polls. Following the speculated defections, Mayawati will be left with only three MPs.
Political analysts suggest that BSP MPs fear a decline in their electoral prospects as the contest evolves into a direct confrontation between the NDA and the SP-Congress coalition. Mayawati has repeatedly said that the BSP will go solo in the polls.
Representing the Ambedkar Nagar parliamentary seat in Uttar Pradesh, Ritesh Pandey, 42, comes from a political family background, with his father Rakesh Pandey serving as a Samajwadi Party MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Reports suggest that the BJP has extended an offer to field Pandey from his current constituency.
Addressing the media following his BJP induction, Pandey expressed his admiration for Prime Minister Modi”s vision of a developed India, citing it as a motivating factor behind his decision. He also thanked Mayawati for the opportunity to represent the BSP in Lok Sabha, while also expressing his disillusionment with the party”s leadership.
Pandey shared on X his resignation letter, which said. “I received your guidance from the moment I entered public life through BSP. The party”s grassroots workers handheld me as I learnt to walk through the corridors of power.”
“For a long time, I am not being called for meetings. I am also not part of leadership discussions. I have tried numerous times to meet you and senior leaders, but to no avail. I have reached a conclusion that the party no longer needs my service and my presence. I am not left with any option other than resigning from the party”s primary membership. The decision to sever ties with the party is emotionally difficult,” he added.
Shortly after Pandey”s resignation announcement, BSP chief Mayawati took to social media to assert the party”s commitment to the ideals of BR Ambedkar, positioning BSP as a movement distinct from conventional capitalist parties. In response to Pandey”s allegations, she emphasised the importance of MPs prioritizing their constituencies and adhering to the party”s directives, hinting that Pandey”s departure might have been inevitable given his alleged deviation from the party”s ethos.
“That”s why this party”s ideology, functioning and selection of candidates is different from other capitalist parties,” she wrote on X.
She also said the party”s MPs must introspect if they looked after the people in their constituency and gave them time. “Is it possible to give tickets to Lok Sabha MPs when they roamed around for their selfish goals and remained a part of negative discussions? The party”s interests are paramount,” she said, indicating that Pandey may not have got a BSP poll ticket if he stayed on.
Pandey, an alumnus of the European Business School in London, has been an active parliamentarian, advocating for his party”s stance on various issues since his election in 2019. Interestingly, his exit from BSP follows his participation in a lunch meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside several other opposition MPs, where they discussed various topics, including the Prime Minister”s response to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on his experiences from the 2001 Bhuj Earthquake.
