After Swamy Prasad Maurya, another senior BSP leader and one of the Brahmin faces in the party, Brajesh Pathak, on Monday joined the saffron fold.
After Swamy Prasad Maurya, another senior BSP leader and one of the Brahmin faces in the party, Brajesh Pathak, on Monday joined the saffron fold. The BJP described Mr Pathak as “pillar” in the Hardoi-Unnao region of Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are scheduled early 2017. Sidelined in the BSP, Mr Pathak had attended Ms Mayawati’s Agra rally on Sunday, a day before he joined the BJP. Interestingly, minutes before he was to join the saffron fold at the party headquarters, the BSP expelled him, accusing him of indulging in anti-party activities. Mr Pathak’s brother Rajesh Pathak and brother-in-law Arvind Tripathi were also ousted from the BSP on similar charges recently. The BSP chief, it was learnt, had refused to renominate him to the Rajya Sabha where his term had ended in 2015. Mr Pathak, sources said, was also lobbying for a ticket for his wife in the Assembly elections. Speculation is rife that his wife could also join the BJP.
Mr Brajesh Pathak joined the BJP in the presece of party president Amit Shah and Union minister Mahesh Sharma. General secretaries Anil Jaina and Arun Singh were also present.
In UP, the BJP is desperately trying to stop a repeat of 2007, when a significant number of its traditional vote bank, Brahmins, had voted for the BSP. Mr Pathak is considered as a prominent Brahmin face in the Hardoi-Unnao region.
“I thought any delay will be harmful. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s developmental agenda and Amit Shah’s efforts can rescue UP,” Mr Pathak said after taking BJP’s membership. When asked about his presence in the BSP rally on Sunday, he said that he was just doing his job in the BSP as long as he was there.
He said he had played a role in swinging Brahmin voters to BSP during the 2007 Assembly polls, but Brahmins were disappointed by the party.
In his resignation letter to the BSP supremo, Mr Pathak charged that she had returned to the path of hatred “against” Brahmins. Mr Pathak also lamented in his resignation letter that Ms Mayawati had deprived Brahmin candidates who were given party tickets to contest 70 Assembly constituencies to accommodate Muslims.
“You have deprived Brahmins who were announced as BSP nominees on 70 Assembly seats earlier in favour of Muslims, who wield financial muscles, besides being tainted,” Mr Pathak said. He also charged that was under the impression that Ms Mayawati had forgotten her earlier slogan of “Tilak, Taraju aur Talwar...”, but was convinced in the recent time that she had started begin sounding acerbic towards the Brahmins.
