Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav will visit Ayodhya after Navratri and announce a 'major decision' about his next political move.
Shivpal has already given enough indications of his growing preference for the BJP by following Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the social media platforms. He even posted a photograph of Ram Darbar from his Twitter handle on Monday.
Though the BJP has maintained a studied silence on Shivpal joining the saffron Parivar, sources in the party claim that with Shivpal in the BJP, the strategy for the 2024 elections could take a major leap forward.
"Shivpal Singh Yadav is a respected leader among Yadavs and his following is bound to benefit any party that he joins," admitted a party functionary.
The BJP, which had so far concentrated on non-Yadav OBCs, is now elated that under Shivpal Yadav's leadership, the party can hope to get a slice of Yadav votes in the next Lok Sabha elections from the Yadav belt that includes Etah, Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Firozabad and Farrukhabad.
The BJP knows that if it welcomes Shivpal Yadav into the party it would be a major psychological blow to the Samajwadi leadership that is yet to recover from Aparna Yadav joining the BJP.
According to the political grapevine, the BJP is mulling a proposal to nominate Shivpal Yadav as deputy Speaker in the state Assembly.
The deputy speaker's post traditionally goes to the opposition.
Last year, the BJP had played a similar game when it nominated rebel SP MLA Nitin Agarwal as deputy speaker.
(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