Raja Bhaiya launches new party, targets BJP

On being asked whether he is open to coalition, Bhaiya said “it is for other parties to decide if they want to support our agendas or not.”

Raja Bhaiya

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Six-time UP MLA from Kunda constituency,  Raghuraj Pratap Singh better known as Raja Bhaiya, on Friday announced the formation of his new party regarding which he has approached the Election Commission for registration. Addressing a press conference, Bhaiya said 80% of his supporters urged him to launch his own party as he’s been an independent politician for 25 years. His party is reportedly known as 'Jansatta Dal'. Bhaiya , who was close to the Samajwadi Party, believed several politicians are ignoring some crucial issues that are not being raised inside the Assembly or outside at public meetings. One such issue according to him was the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act which was brought by Rajiv Gandhi decades ago. “This discrimination in society needs to end,” he said. On being asked whether he is open to coalition, Bhaiya said “it is for other parties to decide if they want to support our agendas or not.” Without naming the BJP, Bhaiya responding to a question on the Ram mandir issue, said it ‘those who play politics on Ram temple need to answer. We abide by the Supreme Court’s order.” Who is Raja Bhaiya? Raja Bhaiya admits to having faced 40-odd criminal cases, the charges ranging from murder to armed robbery and kidnapping. In 2002, Mayawati had him arrested under the now revoked anti-terror law Pota. The CBI probed his possible role after senior police officer R.S. Pandey, who was investigating him, died in a car accident in 2007. In 2013, the agency investigated Raghuraj for criminal conspiracy after a deputy superintendent of police, Ziaul Haq, was shot dead on his turf. Haq's murder forced Raja Bhaiya to resign from the Akhilesh government, reported The Telegraph. Many believe Raja Bhaiya can swing MLAs from any side. The BJP’s reluctance to take a stand on Raja Bhaiya goes back a long way. Rajnath, said Telegraph Sources, had a “soft spot” for Raja Bhaiya and was instrumental in inducting him as a minister in the Kalyan Singh government in 1997 with an eye on the Thakur votes. Once the BJP-BSP alliance had snapped, Raja Bhaiya repaid Rajnath for his “good deed” by aiding a split in the BSP and getting votes for the BJP, a working majority in the Assembly.