Uttar Pradesh elections: Former BSP MLA from Agra joins BJP

AGRA: Former BSP MLA from Etmadpur and a prominent Thakur leader, Dharampal Singh, who joined Samajwadi Party (SP) six months ago, on Wednesday, joined BJP.
However, several BJP workers and supporters of the incumbent MLA from Etmadpur constituency staged a protest against his joining the party, as they feared that he may get the ticket.
Singh’s joining comes a day after cabinet minister and OBC leader, Swami Prasad Maurya, quit from his ministerial post, amid speculations of him joining the SP.
Dharampal Singh is a former MLA, who had won from Etmadpur seat in 2012 from BSP and from Dayalbagh constituency in 2007 from Jan Morcha party. In the 2017 assembly election, Singh lost to BJP's Ram Pratap Singh by over 47,000 votes.
Singh started his political career with Congress member and former MP Raj Babbar, and later changed parties one after the other — the Jan Morcha, BSP and SP.
Talking to TOI, Singh said that he joined the BJP in presence of senior state leaders in Delhi on Wednesday.
“The BJP has done a lot of work and will surely win the upcoming election,” he said, adding that he will follow the party leadership’s directions as regards to contesting the election.
However, BJP workers and supporters of sitting MLA Ram Pratap Singh staged a protest against Singh's joining the party. They shouted slogans and offered mass resignation to president of the party's Braj region Rajnikant Maheshwari.
Maheshwari told media persons that party workers’ issues will be addressed as they are the backbone of the party.
“Dharampal has just joined the party and it doesn’t mean that ticket has been given to him. It is just a presumption that he has joined the party to get a ticket from Etmadpur assembly constituency,” said Maheshwari, adding that the party will never go against its workers. However, he said that Dharmpal may get a ticket from another constituency in Agra.
Disappointed with today’s move, Ram Pratap Singh said he had dedicated his life to the party but they had attempted to sideline him by inducting Dharampal in the party. “They did not talk to me even when I tried to approach them,” he said.