BSP expels former Punjab unit chief for ‘anti-party’ activities

Chandigarh, June 28

The BSP has expelled its former Punjab unit chief Rashpal Singh Raju for alleged anti-party activities, a senior leader said on Monday.

Raju, who headed the party’s state unit during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, was accused of raising questions over the seat-sharing formula between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BSP.

He was also accused of making statements, aimed at misleading the party workers against the alliance over Garhshankar assembly constituency.

By doing so, Raju has challenged the decision of the party chief regarding the alliance and seat-sharing arrangement, Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Punjab unit president Jasvir Singh Garhi said.

Garhi raised this issue along with other matters during a meeting with BSP supremo Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh a few days back.

The SAD and BSP have formed an alliance for the 2022 Punjab Assembly election.           

As part of the tie-up, the BSP would fight 20 of the 117 Assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest would be contested by the SAD.

The seats which the BSP would contest are Kartarpur Sahib, Jalandhar-West, Jalandhar-North, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Tanda, Dasuya, Chamkaur Sahib, Bassi Pathana, Mehal Kalan, Nawanshahr, Ludhiana North, Sujanpur, Bhoa, Pathankot, Mohali, Amritsar North, Amritsar Central, Payal and Anandpur Sahib.

The SAD-BSP alliance had contested the 1996 Lok Sabha polls together and won 11 out of 13 seats in Punjab. While three seats were won by the BSP and rest were by the SAD.

Punjab has 31.94 per cent Dalits out of total population in the state with maximum concentration in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts. PTI