Shillong, June 4: The allies of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh have brought major disappointment to the party with their lacklustre performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The candidate of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which contested the Ghosi seat on its own symbol, was trailing behind Samajwadi Party candidate Rajiv Rai by over 1.6 lakh votes.
SBSP President Om Prakash Rajbhar had repeatedly claimed that the Rajbhar community votes were at his command and that he could swing them whichever way he wanted. His son Arvind Rajbhar was the candidate and this even led to a split in the SBSP last week.
The Nishad Party also proved to be a letdown for the BJP in UP. Nishad Party President Sanjay Nishad’s son Parveen Nishad contested the Sant Kabir Nagar seat on the BJP symbol and is trailing by over 90,000 votes. Sanjay Nishad had claimed that he wielded influence over 27 Lok Sabha seats in the state. His son had won the seat in 2019 on the BJP symbol.
Another BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh, the Apna Dal-Sonelal is also facing trouble. While Union Minister and party chief Anupriya Patel managed to establish a comfortable lead over her nearest rival in Mirzapur, the other Apna Dal candidate in Robertsganj, Rinki Kol, has been trailing behind Chhotelal of the SP.
A senior BJP functionary said: “Yes the performance of our allies has not been up to the mark and it is clear that they did not make a proper self-assessment before contesting.” (IANS)
