Lucknow: Former BJP MP Dharmendra Kashyap Joins Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Calls It 'Beginning of BJP's Downfall'

Former BJP MP Dharmendra Kashyap, a two-time MP from Aonla in Bareilly, formally joined the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow on Tuesday in the presence of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, IANS and Nation Press reported. Kashyap, who was denied a Rajya Sabha nomination, was accompanied by his daughter Kirti Kashyap, while BSP leader Abid Ali also joined the SP at the same event.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk27 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 27: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dharmendra Kashyap on Tuesday switched political loyalties and joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Lucknow, in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, bringing an end to speculation that began after his 'bye-bye' post on social media, IANS reported. Nation Press also reported the formal joining on Tuesday, 27 October.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Kashyap, a former BJP MP from the Aonla Lok Sabha constituency in Bareilly, joined the SP accompanied by his daughter Kirti Kashyap and his supporters. Abid Ali, a leader from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), also joined the SP at the same event, according to both reports.

Source: Nation Press

The development comes after Kashyap was denied a Rajya Sabha nomination by the BJP in the recent elections, despite being considered a strong contender. After the BJP made its Rajya Sabha list public, he posted a picture of a sunset by the sea on Facebook on October 7, captioned 'Tata Bye-Bye', which triggered speculation about an imminent exit. Kashyap had quit the SP to join the BJP in 2013, so Tuesday's joining is a return to his earlier party.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Welcoming Kashyap, Akhilesh Yadav called the joining the 'beginning of BJP's downfall' and said it would strengthen his fight for social justice, and asserted that the moment election dates are announced, the BJP's defeat would be sealed. Akhilesh also alleged — an allegation, not an established finding — that the BJP was resorting to dishonest means and electoral manipulation because it was frightened of defeat, and he raised questions about the functioning of the Election Commission, the removal of names from electoral rolls and the overall voting process.

Source: Nation Press

Addressing the press conference alongside the SP chief, Kashyap claimed — again as his allegation — that people in the state were fed up with the BJP government because of a 'poor' law and order situation, and alleged that the Yogi government's bulldozer action was targeted at poor and deprived families only.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Kashyap is considered an influential leader of the Kashyap community, an OBC community, in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh including the Rohilkhand region. He was elected to the Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket in 2014 and 2019, and lost the 2024 polls by a small margin, according to IANS.

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