Former BSP MLA expelled for ‘anti-party' activities

Former MLA of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Mohammad Shahzad was expelled from the party owing to anti-party activities on Sunday. Shahzad, a resident of Lehboli village in Roorkee, has reportedly received the expulsion order third time from the party in last four years. Party office bearers alleged that he had a close proximity with some state leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was damaging the party. On Saturday, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had visited him on the occasion of wedding party of his son which did not go down well with the top leadership of BSP.

Shahzad, 52, was included in BSP on June 25 after a gap of two years. But it seems that his bonhomie with the state’s top leaders of the BJP like cabinet minister Madan Kaushik paved the way for his expulsion this time from the BSP. Earlier, it was on June 6, 2014 and May 11, 2016 when he was expelled from the party due his sore relationship with top BSP leaders. 

“BJP is our enemy number one as we are fighting a long political battle against this saffron party for years and in such circumstances Shahzad is busy in cosying up to the (state) saffron camp for his vested interest at the cost of party (BSP). The State CM and other top BJP leaders attended his personal party. At the behest of Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) we have now expelled Shahzad from the party,” said BSP state president Kuldeep Baliyan.  

On Saturday, chief minster Rawat along with cabinet ministers Madan Kaushik and Prakash Pant surprised all when they visited former legislator at his native Lahboli village in Manglaur on the occasion of wedding ceremony of his son, Afzal. The Lahboli visit of chief minster is believed to be a political exercise in the interest of district Panchayat which saw the bypolls on three district Panchayat seats on June 19 and BJP had reportedly won one of the seats with the help of Shahzad. It is reported that BJP with the help of Shahzad, who has now around 10 BSP members of his influence in district Panchcyat  board, is trying to strengthening its majority for replacing current chairman of  district panchayat board with someone conducive to them.  

“I have done nothing wrong against the interest of BSP but it was my social obligation under which I had invited  CM Rawat, Kaushik, Pant and others who had once been my fellow legislators in state Assembly for years in the past. I would only say that my expulsion is a preposterous act of BSP and I would never rejoin it in future,” commented the former legislator.