BHOPAL: The proverbial saying ‘politics makes strange bedfellows’ is turning out to be true in Madhya Pradesh this Lok Sabha poll season. Two former BJP politicians for whom the BSP was once the arch rival, are now star campaigners of the same political party.
The BSP recently released its 40-strong list of star campaigners for the first and second phase of LS polls in MP. The list not only included party president Mayawati and other prominent national leaders, but also included BJP’s former senior leaders, including ex-MP Ramlakhan Singh Kushwah and ex-MP minister Rustam Singh.
Ramlakhan Singh Kushwah is four times former BJP MP from Bhind LS seat of MP’s Gwalior-Chambal region for whom, in the first two triumphs (1996 and 1998), the same BSP was the arch rival. Kushwah isn’t alone in the list, but is accompanied by his former Bhind MLA son Sanjeev Singh Kushwah, who had won in 2018 polls on a BSP ticket after being denied ticket by BJP. He again contested as BSP candidate (on being denied BJP ticket) in 2023, but finished third.
Joining the father-son duo in the list of BSP’s star campaigners is ex-MP minister Rustam Singh, who along with son Rakesh Singh had quit the BJP before the 2023 Assembly polls on being denied the ruling party ticket from Morena seat. Singh (a former police officer) had won the Assembly polls from Morena seat in 2003 and 2013 by defeating BSP candidates only.
Three other former BJP politicians too are part of the BSP star campaigners list, including former MLA from Maihar seat Narayan Tripathi (who has been named the BSP candidate from Satna LS seat), Ratnakar Chaturvedi and Subhash Sharma ‘Doli’. All three Brahmin leaders – Tripathi, Chaturvedi and Sharma – hail from the Vindhya region and had contested the 2023 Assembly polls as independents from separate seats of Satna and Maihar districts after being denied BJP tickets, but finished distant third.
Importantly, the BSP had recently named seven candidates for the LS polls in MP, including Narayan Tripathi from Satna seat.