OP Rajbhar, the chief of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, has declared that he is joining the NDA, alleging that the opposition push in Uttar Pradesh has no steam in it. The buzz is that the 60-year-old, who had quit the Yogi Adityanath government ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election, is also set to rejoin the state cabinet.
Asked about the matter, Mr Rajbhar was coy. "We are holding a meeting on July 18, which will be attended by the Prime Minister. All this will be decided then," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. The decision on seat sharing will also be taken then, he added.
In an earlier interview with NDTV, Mr Rajbhar had been adamant about boycotting the BJP. The Chief Minister, he had said, will be taught a lesson. Reminded about that, Mr Rajbhar said it is all a matter of "necessity".
"OP Rajbhar is not taking a U-turn for his own benefit, It is to further battle for the poor and the have nots. I'm fighting the battle led by the Prime Minister. We felt the need and got together," he told NDTV.
Then he added, "The social media is not talking about what the Samajwadi Party did about the backward, that 18 per cent votes were given by Muslims and what did they do about the Muslims?"
After quitting the NDA in 2019, Mr Rajbhar had been one of the most outspoken critics of the BJP. But with the BJP mopping up allies ahead of the next year's general elections, the party's chief strategist Amit Shah had dialled Mr Rajbhar, the former minister said.
Pointing to the fledgling united opposition, he said, "They never called me or Mayawati".
Asked how he would sit in Yogi Adityanath's cabinet after making such harsh statements against him, Mr Rajbhar started laughing. It was a long time ago, he said, "and we have spoken to each other 20 times since," he said.
