BJP red-faced as SBSP lends support to Cong in Mirzapur

Lucknow: In yet another embarrassment to BJP, its ally SBSP has extended support to Congress in Mirzapur, where the saffron party’s other ally and Apna Dal convener Anupriya Patel is pitted against Lalitesh Pati Tripathi of Congress.
SBSP spokesperson Piyush Mishra said the party has decided to support candidates which could defeat BJP or its ally Apna Dal.“BJP did not follow alliance dharma and therefore we decided to hit it,” Mishra told TOI.
The development comes close on the heels of the Om Prakash Rajbhar-led outfit lending support to SP-BSP alliance in three seats — Maharajganj, Bansgaon and Sant Kabir Nagar.
SBSP had decided to contest 39 seats alone after seat-haring talks with BJP failed. BJP had asked Rajbhar to contest Ghosi seat on its symbol, but he declined and gave his resignation to CM Yogi Adityanath.
SBSP national general secretary Arun Rajbhar said the decision was taken to teach BJP a lesson for not abiding by its promises. “BJP has not done anything for most backward and other oppressed class,” he said.
The development would further deepen the fault lines between BJP and SBSP ahead of the seventh and last phase of elections.
The SBSP chief has already been on a collision course with BJP over a host of issues. Rajbhar has been demanding implementation of the social justice committee report that envisaged division of OBC into three categories and provisioning separate reservation for them.