Uttar Pradesh has been in an uproar since minister Om Prakash Rajbhar put out word that the SP is about to be torn apart and its leaders are set to cross over. It’s a warning that comes at a time when everyone is repositioning for 2027, and it doesn’t do much for Akhilesh Yadav’s side. Rajbhar, who is a Cabinet minister and also heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, was clear: the whole of the SP is in a position to come to the BJP. He sees this as the next point of contention in UP, following some of the ructions you’ve seen with the opposition in other states.
Rajbhar’s claim sets off pre-2027 churn
Whether in an interview or on his feed, Rajbhar has been making his case that what’s happening in Maharashtra and West Bengal could be upstaged by some house-cleaning in the SP. In one post he even put it down in writing: there will be a split, and Ram Gopal Yadav has already made overtures to the Union Home Minister. He didn’t put any papers on the table or name names. But you don’t need to to have the charge put a few question marks in the room for both the ruling side and the opposition in UP.
Allegations, a letter, and unanswered questions
Rajbhar is pointing to the kind of trouble the old SP government left behind – the mining scam, the Gomti River Front case – and says the heat from those probes is having an effect. Neither the SP nor Ram Gopal Yadav has said anything about the so-called letter. We can’t verify the story on our end, and the BJP has been quiet on the matter of any crossovers. If you want to separate the claims from the facts, here is where we stand: – Claimed: A letter from Ram Gopal Yadav to Amit Shah. – Claimed: The SP is on the verge of a break-up. – Alleged: The party is being put under the pump by investigators. – Not verified: The letter or who might be leaving. – No comment from the SP or the BJP.
Why the stakes are high for SP
The SP is still a force to be reckoned with in the state and beyond. They have 37 in the Lok Sabha, which makes them the third-biggest in the House. In the UP Assembly they have 101 right now. It used to be more. They put up 111 in 2022, but between resignations and people changing sides, the number has come down. In that environment, Rajbhar has been after Akhilesh Yadav with some pointed exchanges.
Cross-state context: Maharashtra rumblings
There is some of that in the air from Maharashtra, too. Word is six of the nine Shiv Sena UBT MPs in the Lok Sabha are looking to go with Eknath Shinde’s side. You had Eknath and Shrikant Shinde in a huddle in Delhi one morning at 8:30. They’ll form their own group first, then merge. On June 19, for Foundation Day, the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s six are due to join the Shinde camp. We’re talking about Omraje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Sanjay Deshmukh. And then there’s the name of Rajabhau Waje. But Rajbhar is telling people to look away from all that in Maharashtra and Bengal. UP is where it’s at, he says, and the SP is getting jumpy with the scrutiny turning up the heat.
What to watch next in Uttar Pradesh
We’ll see if any of the SP’s leadership makes a move or if that letter is ever put on the table. Rajbhar has also put it out there that the CBI has Akhilesh Yadav in a file over the mining case, something the SP hasn’t gotten back on in this round.
A word from the SP, Ram Gopal Yadav or the BJP will tell us what’s what. For now, things are heating up in the state and we are watching for any sign of a shift before 2027.
