While keeping his cards close to his chest, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar is actively engaged in establishing new alliances as part of his political strategy for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The wedding of Rajbhar’s son served as a platform for the SBSP chief to showcase his political prowess and presence of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders sparked speculation about his potential political alliance with the ruling party.

The marriage ceremony of Arun Rajbhar, the younger son of Om Prakash Rajbhar, garnered significant attention in Varanasi on Tuesday. Prominent figures, including BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, several ministers, MLAs and MPs from BJP as well as opposition parties, former ministers and former MLAs and other dignitaries attended the event.

Congratulatory messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave credence to the speculation that Rajbhar may forge an alliance with the BJP in near future after he had a long meeting with Chaudhary.

In the previous 2017 UP assembly elections, the SBSP won four seats. In 2022, Rajbhar contested the election in alliance with Samajwadi Party. Rajbhar’s influence in Azamgarh and Ghazipur prevented the BJP from gaining ground in Purvanchal. Only one assembly seat in Mau district was won by the BJP, while the SP-SBSP alliance won three seats. The alliance also secured five assembly seats in Jaunpur and compared to the previous election, SBSP’s strength in Vidhan Sabha increased from four to six in 2022.

With the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in mind, the BJP is focusing on Purvanchal and Rajbhar seems to be a safe bet for the party. The challenging constituencies for BJP in Purvanchal include Jaunpur, Ghosi, Lalganj, Ghazipur, Ambedkar Nagar, Salempur, Azamgarh and Ballia.

“As Rajbhar plays a decisive role in constituencies such as Ghosi, Ghazipur, Lalganj and Salempur, he can be used to BJP,” said a senior BJP leader who met Rajbhar on Tuesday.

By attending the marriage ceremony of Rajbhar’s son in large numbers, the BJP leaders indicated their seriousness towards Purvanchal and demonstrated the need to include Rajbhar in the National Democratic Alliance. Rajbhar has been continuously sending signals to the BJP since the 2022 assembly elections. Previously, he openly criticised the Samajwadi Party while praising Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, following which the government granted him Y-category security.