SBSP chief Rajbhar says he will be made minister along with Dara Singh Chauhan in UP

Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday expressed confidence that he along with BJP's Dara Singh Chauhan, who lost the Ghosi bypoll recently, will be made ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government.

Chauhan, who resigned from the Samajwadi Party and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in July, lost the bypoll to the SP's Sudhakar Singh by a margin of 42,759 votes on Friday.

The SBSP chief, a prominent OBC leader in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was a key campaigner for Chauhan in Ghosi under Mau district which has a substantial Rajbhar caste vote.

Asked to react to opposition leaders speculating that he and Chauhan will not be made ministers after the bypoll result, Rajbhar said, 'Why not? We will become ministers.'

"These opposition people are not out 'maliks' (heads). We are in the NDA and the 'maliks' of NDA are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief J P Nadda," Rajbhar said.

The SBSP chief said the opposition parties should be patient and wait for a few days. "They should take care of their hearts as they might get a heart attack soon," he added.

After the SBSP's return to the NDA in July, Rajbhar had hinted that he and Chauhan may be inducted into Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's cabinet.

When asked if the defeat in the bypoll will have a bearing on the SBSP-BJP ties, Rajbhar said, "We will be with the NDA. Our alliance is for the Lok Sabha polls and not the bypoll."

"Those who are making these statements (SBSP's ouster from NDA) are ignorant. After the 2024 general election results, they (SP) will fall flat on the ground," he added.