BJP leader Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday after his name was excluded from the ruling party’s list of Rajya Sabha candidates from Uttar Pradesh, ending speculation triggered by a Facebook post he had shared following the announcement.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav welcomed the OBC leader into the party.
Addressing a press conference in the presence of Yadav, Kashyap claimed that the people of the state were fed up with the BJP government due to "poor" law and order.
He claimed that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's bulldozer did not run on people from his caste and targeted the poor.
Yadav said Kashyap's joining would strengthen the SP.
A former minister, Kashyap was hopeful of securing a Rajya Sabha ticket in the BJP, but was not included in the list of candidates, according to sources.
The BJP fielded state minister Dharampal Singh and Shruti Gangwar, daughter of former Union minister and former Jharkhand governor Santosh Gangwar, from Bareilly district.
After the announcement of the BJP's list, Kashyap had posted on October 7 a picture of a sunset by the sea with the words "Tata Bye-Bye" on Facebook, leading to speculation about his possible return to the SP.
Kashyap is considered one of the prominent political faces of the Kashyap community in Rohilkhand (northwestern Uttar Pradesh).
He quit the SP to join the BJP in May 2013.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Aonla in 2014 and 2019.
He lost the seat by a narrow margin in the 2024 elections.
The Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are due early next year.
(With input from PTI)