LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party MLA from Jalalpur seat in Ambedkarnagar, Subhash Rai, joined the BJP on Monday, further reinforcing the trend of politicians crossing over to the rival camps ahead of UP polls.
Rai joined the party in Delhi in the presence of UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, and deputy CMs, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma.
Singh said Rai was earlier with the BJP and therefore his return to the party was “ghar wapsi” which would strengthen the BJP in the region. Rai, a former wrestler, was with the BJP between 1990 and 2005 before shifting to the SP.
Rai won the Jalalpur seat for SP in 2019 assembly by-polls after its sitting BSP MLA Ritesh Pandey got elected to Lok Sabha. This was the first time that Rai, a Bhumihar, had won an assembly election. His victory in Ambedkarnagar marked SP’s presence in the BSP stronghold, months after BSP chief Mayawati snapped ties with the SP.
Sources said that Rai apprehended that he could be denied ticket by the SP amid defection of BSP leader Rakesh Pandey into the SP fold. Speculations were rife that SP might field Pandey, who happens to be the father of Ritesh Pandey, and wields considerable influence among upper caste voters.
A resident of Ramgarh village in Ambedkarnagar, Rai has been a member of zila panchayat in Faizabad (now Ayodhya) and Ambedkarnagar between 1995 and 2015. He has also been a wrestler and has won state-level championship thrice in the past.
