‘Will fight for jobs and dignity’

uheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, the so-called rebel within the NDA and serving as a Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister, is a known face among the Most Backward Classes (MBC) inthe state as well as in Bihar.

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He was a staunch cadre of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in his early days in politics and even became the Varanasi district president of BSP as he was a close associate of late Kanshi Ram. He floated his own party in 2002 when the BSP denied him an assembly ticket for the third time after losing twice earlier. Thereafter, his SBSP became a known party of the MBCs, particularly the Rajbhars in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Atwo-time MLA from the Zahurabad assembly seat, Rajbhar, in 2017, became a minister in the then Yogi Adityanath government. But before the 2022 polls, he joined the Samajwadi Party alliance and won six seats. However, he switched sides again in 2024 before the Lok Sabha polls, and subsequently became a minister in the Yogi 2.0 government.

He advocates for a change in the reservation system and has demanded a quota for the Most Backwards, and also supports prohibition. The SBSP chief talked to The Statesman’s Manoj Bhadra on his party's plan in the upcoming Bihar polls.

Q:SBSP worked alotin Bihar in the past and held several rallies to mobilize the most backwards. But the NDA ignored your party and did not giveeven a single seat in the alliance. Now, what will you do in the Bihar assembly polls?

A: Senior BJP leaders, including party president J P Nadda and Amit Shah, had assured us at least four to five seats in Bihar. But we were shocked with their volte-face. They denied us seats despite knowing our popularity among the most backward (like Rajbhars and Prajapatis). Now the BJP has thrown the ball into our court, and we have decided to contest the elections alone in 153 seats or forge an alliance. When the NDA needed support during the bypolls in Bihar, they came with folded hands. But now, when the time came to stand by us, they forgot. We even met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Nadda, and Vinod Tawde to present our plans. Still, nothing moved. So, we decided to stand on our own feet.