BJP to now join Swami Prasad Maurya’s rally

Former BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who joined the BJP last month, is apparently determined to hold a rally under the banner of Loktantrik Bahujan Manch on September 21. BJP president Amit Shah and party vice-president Om Mathur are now expected to join Mr Maurya in order to check speculations of Mr Maurya charting his own course.

Mr Maurya had floated the Loktantrik Bahujan Manch after walking out of the BSP and despite persuasion by state BJP president Keshav Maurya, he had refused to dissolve the outfit and said that he would hold the proposed rally.

The decision also stems from the fact that the BJP is desperate to regain lost ground among dalits and Most Backward Classes (MBCs) after expelled BJP leader Dayashankar Singh’s derogatory remarks against BSP chief Mayawati which had earned the BJP the image of being anti-dalit. “The rally will be attended by members from the maurya, shakya and kushwaha communities and it would have sent a wrong message if we had stayed away from the event. The BJP wants to tell the communities that we are with them,” said a senior party functionary.

Efforts are also on to convince Mr Maurya to announce the merger of his outfit into the BJP during the rally,” said a senior party functionary.

Mr Maurya, on the other hand, said that the rally would be a turning point for politics in Uttar Pradesh. He indicated that some more senior BSP leaders would join the BJP at the rally.

“I have been touring the state to muster support for the rally and we expect a crowd of more than five lakhs at the rally, making it one of the biggest congregation of OBCs and MBCs in UP in recent years,” he said.

Mr Maurya, sources said, would expose Ms Mayawati’s corruption at the rally. “I will reveal details of corruption in the party in such a manner that Mayawati will be forced to shift her base to Delhi after that because voters in UP will reject her,” he said.

The BJP, meanwhile, feels that attacks made on Ms Mayawati and the BSP by former BSP leaders will have greater impact on the people than attacks made by rival political outfits.

“These are the leaders who have worked for the BSP for years and when they level allegation, it gains credibility,” the BJP leader said.