Sitting MLAs from BJP, BSP jump ship, join SP

Vinay Shankar Tiwari of the BSP from Chillupar Assembly seat and Digvijay Narayan alias Jai Chaubey of Khalilabad constituency joined the SP

In what is considered to be a huge boost to Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, several high-profile Brahmin leaders, including an MLA each from the BJP and a BSP, mostly hailing from Gorakhpur, the home town of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and adjoining districts, joined the SP on Sunday.

Pandit Hari Shankar Tewari, one of the most renowned Brahmin leaders in 'Poorvanchal' (eastern region), a six-term MLA in the state assembly from Chillupar seat and hailed from Gorakhpur, and his two sons, one of whom was a BSP MLA and another a former MP, joined the SP in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav.

Tewari's son, Vinay, was a BSP MLA from Chillupar seat in Gorakhpur district while his other son, Bhishma Shankar, alias Kushal Tewari, was an MP from Sant Kabir Nagar seat in 2007 and 2009 on a BSP ticket. Both Vinay and Kushal were expelled from the BSP three days ago.

Digvijay Narayan Chaube, the BJP lawmaker from the Khalilabad Assembly seat in the Gorakhpur division, also joined the SP along with several other prominent Brahmin faces from the eastern region of the state. Earlier, BJP MLA from Sitapur district Rakesh Rathore had also joined the SP.

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An elated Akhilesh later told reporters here that the BJP was staring at defeat in the next assembly polls. ''These are very important leaders of their respective regions,'' he said.

The SP chief also claimed that the contest in the forthcoming assembly polls would be "one-sided". ''The people of the state are with us...we will sweep the polls,'' he asserted.

The Brahmin leaders, who joined the SP, accused the BJP government of persecuting the community during its regime. ''This government works only for a particular community (Thakur)...members of only one community were appointed at Gorakhpur University...Brahmins were humiliated by the state government,'' Vinay Tewari said.

Although the state BJP leaders sought to make light of the Brahmin leaders from the 'Poorvanchal' region joining the SP, sources in the saffron party said that the BJP should do "more" to "placate" the community.

In the past, several Brahmin BJP leaders, including MLAs, had voiced concern over "persecution" of the community members under the party regime.

A BJP legislator from Lambhua assembly seat in Sultanpur district Deomani Dwivedi, who hailed from the Brahmin community, had sought to know from the state government about its future plan to ensure the community's security. The legislator also wanted to know about the number of Brahmins murdered in the state since the BJP came to power in UP and in how many cases the police were able to arrest the culprits.

The Brahmin community, who formed around ten per cent of the electorate in the state, were a deciding factor on around a dozen Lok Sabha and over 50 assembly seats.

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