Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Om Prakash Rajbhar, a BJP ally and Uttar Pradesh minister, has threatened to go it alone in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections if the party's demand for earmarking a part of the 27 per cent OBC quota for most backward castes is not met.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Rajbhar said, "As of now, we are in the NDA, but the BJP has to decide whether we will remain with them or not. If the BJP does not give shape to our demand by February 24, we will take a decision on the tie-up during a party programme in Varanasi and announce the decision on contesting on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh the next day."
The SBSP, which enjoys considerable support among the Rajbhar community, is part of the BJP-led coalition government in Uttar Pradesh. The party has been demanding that a part of the OBC quota in government jobs and higher educational institutions be earmarked for most backward castes and mahadalits, so that they can avail its benefits more.
According to the SBSP, benefits under the reservation policy are at present largely cornered by the castes that are relatively better off among the OBC category.
"The BJP promised there would be a split in the 27 per cent quota for OBC and that it would be implemented six months before the polls. Now barely 100 days are left for the polls, we have given an ultimatum (to the BJP) that if the announcement is not made in the next 100 days through a cabinet decision, we will part ways and contest Lok Sabha elections on our own," Rajbhar said.
Rajbhar had been upset with the BJP for more than a year over the issue of benefits for OBCs. Interestingly, he is the third NDA constituent to have set a 'deadline' for the BJP to resolve grievances. Late last year, Union minister Upendra Kushwaha and his Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) set a deadline of November 30 for the BJP to agree to demands for more Lok Sabha seats to contest from in Bihar. Kushwaha resigned from the government and pulled out of the NDA in December, before joining the UPA.
Later, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan set an ultimatum of December 31 for the BJP to hike its share of Lok Sabha seats to contest from. However, the BJP managed to mollify the LJP, giving it six seats to fight from in Bihar and the party remains part of the NDA.
