OBC leader Om Prakash Rajbhar meets Amit Shah, joins NDA

In a boost to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh OBC leader Om Prakash Rajbhar announced on Sunday his return to the ruling National Democratic Alliance following a meeting with Home Minister Amit ShahShah on Sunday tweeted a picture of their meeting and welcomed the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party SBSP founderleader to the NDA Rajbhar was accompanied by his son Arvind RajbharO P Rajbhar said both parties will fight the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders including ShahThe home minister who has been the key BJP minder on its political manoeuvres in Uttar Pradesh said his entry will strengthen the NDA in the state and further boost its efforts under Modi for the welfare of the poor and deprivedIn a tweet Rajbhar said The BJP and the SBSP have come together They will fight together for social justice national security good governance the deprived exploited farmers poor Dalits youth and women and to empower every poor sectionRajbhar who enjoys influence especially among his Rajbhar community which is present in sizeable numbers in eastern Uttar Pradesh said he will attend the NDA meeting on July 18 here in what is being seen as a show of strength by the ruling alliance in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha pollsRajbhars alliance with the Samajwadi Party was considered an important reason for the BJPs relatively poor performance in parts of poorvanchal during the 2022 assembly pollsHis relations with the Samajwadi Party had strained following the state elections which the BJP won comfortably and he had been taking digs at its leader Akhilesh Yadav off and onHe was a BJP ally and a minister in the state government as well but had parted ways with the party ahead of the assembly pollsThe BJPs decision to woo him back into the NDA highlights its micro efforts to strengthen its presence allround the state which sends 80 MPs to Lok SabhaThe party has been claiming that it will win all 80 seats in 2024 and its frenetic efforts to expand its alliance in the countrys most important state politically underlines its seriousness It had won 62 seats while the SPBSP alliance which broke soon after had bagged 17The decision of another OBC leader from Poorvanchal Dara Singh Chauhan to resign as a Samajwadi Party MLA on Saturday is seen as part of the BJPs larger exercise to bolster its ranks especially among the backward classesChauhan had also met Shah before his resignation He is likely to join hands with the BJPChauhan was in the BJP earlier too but had joined the SP ahead of the 2022 assembly pollsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever