BSP suffers another jolt as Maya’s trusted aide quits BSP

In a second setback to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), party supremo Mayawati’s once trusted lieutenant and former minister RK Chaudhary quit on Thursday, accusing her of “auctioning” tickets for the 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. However, an unfazed BSP has downplayed 57-year-old Chaudhary’s resignation, saying it will have no impact on the party.

“At election time, tickets are allotted to the person, who pays the highest amount,” he said while announcing his resignation from the party.

He said since the death of party founder Kanshi Ram, there has been a marked change in the working style of Mayawati and that veteran leaders, who functioned with a missionary zeal, were not given adequate weightage.

Senior BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya had quit the party on June 22, saying he felt “suffocated”. He , too, had accused Mayawati of “auctioning” tickets for the polls.

Hours after Chaudhary’s announcement, state BSP chief Ram Achal Rajbhar said his resignation would have no impact on the party and described him as “selfish”. “There is no place for selfish people in BSP...Chaudhary was expelled earlier too for his selfish motives...his departure had no effect earlier and will not have any impact this time too,” he said.

Chaudhary said Kanshi Ram had united different castes under one banner and evolved them into a group, which could not be “sold” and due to his concerted efforts, a vote bank was created in all Assembly constituencies in UP.

“But after Kanshi Ram, Mayawati started eyeing this non-saleable vote bank and began selling tickets and BSP became a ‘mandi’ (wholesale market) for ticket selling...Under such circumstances, the party is no longer the mission of social change,” he said.

Senior BSP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Naseemudin Siddiqui said till the time Chaudhary was in BSP, the party could not form majority government.

“Now, we will form a majority government in the state,” he said, adding, “In the past too, the BSP came to power only after Chaudhary was expelled from the party.” 

Alleging that BSP has deviated from the ideology of its ideologues, Chaudhary said capitalists had now come to the forefront.

“I have to resign from the party out of complusion...Many more will leave it in times to come,” he said, adding that he would hold a meeting of his supporters on July 11 and chalk out his future course of action.

A known Kanshi Ram loyalist, Chaudhary, along with senior leaders Barkhu Ram Verma and Krishna Pal Singh, was expelled by the BSP chief on July 21, 2001, for opposing the party’s stand on reservation to the most backwards and Dalits. 

He, however, returned to the party on April 12, 2013, after over 11 years and is perhaps the only leader to be reinstated and given the key post of coordinator after a long hiatus.

When out of BSP, he had floated the Rashtriya Swabhiman Party and had extended support to then Samajwadi Party government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Chaudhary was among the oldest BSP members and had stood by Mayawati on June 2, 1995, when she was allegedly attacked by Samajwadi Party workers in the State Guest House here.

Rajbhar said Chaudhary had returned to the party after apologising for his mistakes and was also fielded in Lok Sabha polls in 2014 from Mohanlalganj.

In view of the “favourable” conditions for the party in the upcoming Assembly election, he had demanded ticket which was denied.