New Delhi: Just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Swami Prasad Maurya, a former leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP), launched his new political party, the Rashtriya Shoshit Samaaj Party (RSSP), in New Delhi on Thursday.
This development comes close on the heels of Maurya’s resignation from the primary membership of the SP and from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
"We will strengthen the I.N.D.I alliance to remove BJP. We will talk to their leaders. To make sure that BJP is defeated, I am ready to make all sacrifices if needed," news agency ANI quoted Maurya as saying.
Weighing in on the reasons for his departure, Maurya cited a “lack of engagement” from the SP leadership, following his resignation as the national general secretary on February 13, after discussions on February 12.
"I got an opportunity to work with you. But after our talks on February 12 and my resignation (as national general secretary) on February 13, no initiative of any talks with me was taken due to which I am resigning from the primary membership of the party," Swami Prasad Maurya wrote to SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
Maurya further raised concerns regarding the allocation of Samajwadi Party (SP) tickets for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls slated for February 27. Notably, the party has nominated Ramjilal Suman, Jaya Bachchan, and Alok Ranjan as its candidates. Maurya pointed out what he perceives as a deviation from the party's purported commitment to supporting the "PDA" - an acronym coined by SP chief Yadav to signify "Picchde, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak" (Backward, Dalit, and Minority) communities. He underscored the apparent inconsistency between the party's rhetoric and its actual candidate selection process, PTI reported.
Furthermore, Maurya cast doubt on the future trajectory of the SP, particularly in the presence of senior party figure Ram Gopal Yadav.