Three former UP legislative Council members, two of Samajwadi Party and one of Bahujan Samaj Party, who resigned on Saturday, joined the BJP saying that it was the only nationalist party which could take the country to the path of progress.
leaders who joined the party in the presence of party’s state president Keshav Prasad Maurya include SP’s Yashwant Singh and Bukkal Nawab and BSP’s Thakur Jaiveer Singh.
Sources said that these leaders were to join the party in the presence of BJP national president Amit Shah but the proposal was cancelled at the last minute. During a media interaction, when Shah was asked about joining of these legislators, he feigned ignorance and said that the state unit would take a call on the issue.
“I have no idea about this. I do not know what arrangements state unit has made,” Shah told reporters.
But two hours later, the MlCs were seen being escorted to the state BJP headquarters where they were received by state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak. They were taken to Keshav Prasad Maurya’s room where they were made party member.
Yashwant Singh is a three time MlC and a close associate of Independent MlA and former UP minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya. He was earlier in the BJP but joined Samajwadi Party in 2004. On July 6, 2016 he was made an MlC for a third time.
Bukkal Nawab is a two-time MlC and was close to SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. He contested Vidhan Sabha election twice but lost by a small margin.
Former BSP leader Thakur Jaiveer Singh, a former minister in the previous Mayawati ministry, is a strong Thakur leader from Aligarh.