In an unprecedented development, five legislators of Bahujan Samaj Party have withdrawn their support to the BSP's official candidate, Ramji Gautam, for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections.
The five legislators informed the returning officers that their signatures as proposers for Gautam were forged.
Immediately after informing the returning officer, the five legislators -- Aslam Chaudhary, Aslam Raini, Muztaba Siddiqui, Hakam Lal Bind and Govind Jatav -- went straight to the Samajwadi Party office to meet Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
This is the first time that the BSP has faced such a major setback, and that too, from her 2019 ally, the Samajwadi Party.
The dramatic development that rocked political equations on Wednesday is bound to cast its shadow on the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
On Tuesday, an Independent candidate, Prakash Bajaj, supported by Samajwadi Party, had filed his nomination papers, giving a clear indication of the events of Wednesday.
BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh has alleged that the five legislators who had rebelled against the party were being given 'benefits' of a money-bag and to stop Dalit leader Ramji Gautam, from going to Rajya Sabha.
--IANS
amita/in
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU