Piqued at injustice in ticket distribution, senior Samajwadi Party leader Beni Prasad Verma’s son Rakesh Verma is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party and may contest election from Ramnagar constituencyof Barabanki.
Sources in the BJP said that Beni Verma has spoken to senior BJP leaders about his son joining the party buthe will himself remain in the Samajwadi Party.
“The deal has been finalized. Rakesh Verma may join the BJP within a day or two. An announcement to this effect will be made by state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya in lucknow,” the source said.
If the deal comes through, all eyes will be on Beni Prasad Verma and his future moves. He is considered close to Mulayam Singh Yadav and was made Rajya Sabha member on SP ticket only last year. During the family feud, Beni had sided with Mulayam Singh.
He got rewarded for this loyalty as his son Rakesh Verma was named SP candidate from Ramnagar constituency of Barabanki by Shivpal Singh Yadav, when he was state president of the party, in consultation with Mulayam Singh. The seat was won last time by Akhilesh loyalist and Rural Development minister Arvind Singh Gope.
After Akhilesh was elevated as national president of the SP, he announced Arvind Singh Gope as the party candidate from Ramnagar and shifted Rakesh Verma to Kaiserganj seat of Bahraich. This infuriated Beni Prasad Verma and he declared that his son would either contest from Ramnagar or will not contest at all.
When the changed dispensation in the SP refusingto pay heed, Beni Verma then approached the BJP.
“It is a win win situation for us. We will get a good candidate in the form of Rakesh Verma. We have our core vote bank there and if Beni Babu’s influence is added to this we can win the seat easily. Wait and watch till the curtains come down,” a senior BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, SP leader Naresh Agarwal said that there were reports about Beni Verma’s son joining the BJP. “It would be nice if Beni Verma resigns from Rajya Sabha and then hobnob with the BJP,” he said.