Oppn parties have ego issues, they should learn from BJP: Rajbhar

After joining hands with the BJP, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday said that Samajwadi Party is unable to sustain its alliances and claimed that "more people from the SP" will join the NDA fold.

In a statement here, Rajbhar showered praise on the BJP, saying, "There is 'aham' (ego issue) among the Opposition (parties) and everyone considers themselves big. These parties should learn from the BJP as to how power is achieved by aligning with smaller parties."

Rajbhar said that his SBSP and the BJP will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election together. He said the seat sharing will be decided at the July 18 meeting of NDA partners in Delhi.

"The alliance of SBP and the BJP will strengthen the NDA. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, efforts being made by the NDA for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden will gain further strength," he said.

The SBSP chief said, "There was a question - Rajbhar is with whom? And, now it is clear that Rajbhar is with the NDA."

Attacking the Samajwadi Party, Rajbhar said its "alliances cannot last" and cited the collapse of the SP's coalition with the Congress in the 2017 UP Assembly election and with the Bahujan Samaj Party during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

"Akhilesh Yadav is like a person who wants everything in the village to belong to him," Rajbhar alleged, attacking the SP chief.

Meanwhile, chief spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party Rajendra Chaudhary said both Rajbhar and BJP are "helpless" and hardly in a position to help each other.

"At this point, the BJP is in trouble, and despite staying in power, it is not able to get candidates for the Lok Sabha polls," Chaudhary claimed.

On his earlier call for opposition parties to come together and fight the Lok Sabha polls against the BJP, Rajbhar said, "For how long will I wait? I had tried to speak to people (apparently hinting at various political parties), but there was no response from the other side.

"So in the interest of society and the country, we decided to join the fight for the (welfare) women, youths, farmers, and poor which has been undertaken by the prime minister, the Union home minister and the UP chief minister."

On SP MLA Dara Singh Chauhan tendering resignation, Rajbhar said, "Soon, I will bring Dharam Singh Saini (former UP minister in Yogi Adityanath government) in front of you."

Samajwadi Party MLA Dara Singh Chauhan resigned from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Saturday, prompting the SP to term it a "breach of trust".

Chauhan is a legislator from Ghosi in Mau district and joined the SP in January last year after resigning from the Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

OBC leader Dharam Singh Saini too had resigned from the Uttar Pradesh cabinet on January 13, 2022. Asked about the reason for quitting, Chauhan refused to comment. In his letter too, he did not mention any reason for stepping down.

Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader Chauhan was the minister for forests and environment in the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government headed by Adityanath.