You could say a new kind of storm is in the making in UP. Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar says he sees the writing on the wall for Akhilesh Yadav’s position at the helm of the SP, and that Shivpal may be next in charge. The SBSP man has also let it be known that some in the SP are looking to make a run for the BJP, which is only adding to the friction before 2027.
It was in the Bairia part of Ballia on Saturday that Rajbhar made his case. He compared what he’s seeing to old party break-ups and put forward the idea that the SP is coming apart at the seams. He made a point of calling Ballia a ‘land of rebels’ to give some weight to the local undercurrents.
What’s behind the noise
Rajbhar is building on the well-worn fault line between Akhilesh and his uncle, Shivpal. His take is that Akhilesh will have to get out of the way for the good of the party, and let Shivpal run it. He has been on about how Shivpal has been pushed aside, and he makes it sound like a major rift in the SP.
A few days ago, he told Akhilesh to ‘save his MPs’. It was more of a warning than a forecast. With one thing after another, he has the whole matter of who’s in charge of the party up in the air.
BJP ties and a possible flashpoint in Ballia
To put some heat on the situation, Rajbhar has said some SP heads are in touch with the BJP. He even put a name to it: MP Rajeev Rai. No hard proof, but Rajbhar says Rai has been in a room with home minister Amit Shah and is set to lead an uprising from within. He says you’ll see the first signs of it in Ballia.
In front of the media, here is what Rajbhar put on the table:
– Some in the SP are heading over to the ruling side
– Rajeev Rai and Amit Shah have had a meeting (unsubstantiated)
– You can expect trouble to start in Ballia
– Look at what happened with the Shiv Sena and Trinamool for a hint of where this is going
The SP’s side of it, and some of their own housekeeping
The SP has written off the talk. Akhilesh has no time for what he calls a ‘rumour-mongering minister’, and Rajeev Rai says it’s all just for show. For the most part, the SP is treating it as so much hot air.
Rajbhar, for his part, says his own house is in order. He has five of the six SBSP MLAs with him, he says, and only one has been seen with an SP flag. That’s not quite the story his son Arun has been telling; he recently put it at three, which has people talking about strains in the SBSP as well.
Zahoorabad and the temple row
For good measure, Rajbhar has issued a challenge to both Akhilesh and Shivpal to face him in the polls at Zahoorabad in Ghazipur, where he is from. It’s a way of testing mettle on his own ground.
He’s also gone after the SP on the matter of the Ram temple trust and the money questions that have come up. In his view, you can’t be against the Ram temple and then have the right to bring up these kinds of issues.
Looking to 2027
The clock is ticking. With 403 Assembly seats to be decided in 2027, any real movement in the SP could change the numbers for the opposition. These are mostly unproven claims, but they have opened up the field for some heavy rhetoric.
All eyes will be on Ballia and the surrounding area. If we see someone cross over, or if Akhilesh and Shivpal put on a show of unity, or there’s some official action, then we’ll know if this is for real or just bluster. In the meantime, they seem intent on keeping the camera on one another.
