From a small paan shop in Ballia to Samajwadi Party’s national stage: Rise of Seema Rajbhar

“I had been working within the Samajwadi Party and for women on the ground but never dreamt of getting such a role at the national level,” she told The Indian Express. “Since the party’s trust has been reposed in me, I promise to raise the issue of women belonging to the deprived, backward communities — standing with them in every fight for their rights and ensuring more women from such families can participate in the politics…”

Seema has replaced senior party leader and Thakur face Juhie Singh, who held the post for the past five years.

While the move appears sudden, party sources said there are various factors behind Seema’s selection for the post.

One, it can benefit the party before the upcoming Assembly elections by sending a message to those targeting the SP that it’s against a larger participation of women in politics. Two, sources said, it is a counter attack on the SBSP — a BJP-led NDA ally in the state.

The SP and SBSP were once allies; they had contested the 2022 Assembly polls together, and the SBSP won six seats. However, after the polls, party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar left the SP alliance and joined the BJP, which made him Cabinet Minister.

Three, party leaders said, by elevating Seema to a national platform, the SP aims to counter BJP’s allegations that it promotes only one family.

Why Seema?

Seema is from the Rajbhar community, an OBC community which plays a significant role in over 30 seats in Eastern UP including Ballia, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Mau, Azamgarh, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Deoria and Gorakhpur — seats which are a core support base for Om Prakash Rajbhar, said sources.

“She would represent deprived women in the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) social coalition in the state, as well as across the country, as she has risen from the ground up,” said a party leader.

While she might not be a popular Rajbhar face, the leader claimed she is capable enough to send a message to her community — especially women — in the Purvanchal region.

Party leaders also said a prominent quality in Seema, to take out protests on the road without hesitation and speak her mind, is also a factor that worked in her favour. Sources pointed to how she has consistently targeted the SPSB chief, in her local dialect, while requesting the Rajbhar community to not trust his leadership.

Asked if her family is in support of her elevation, Seema says her parents and siblings were always on her side.

“Family ne to support diya, ab gaon bhi saath dene laga hai… Dharatal pe aadhi abadi ki ladai ladni hai, taaki mahilaon rajniti mein aur hissa le saken (While my family has always supported me in social work, now my village has also started supporting me. I will fight the battle for women on the ground so that they can have bigger representation in politics),” she added.