BSPs Dalit votes split in Speakers seat

Sukhdev was shifted to Deedarganj,which has come into existence in place of the erstwhile Saraimeer seat,after his constituency of Lalganj became a reserved seat following delimitation.

I have never seen a division in Dalit votes in this village. This time,Dalits even voted for Ulema Council candidate Bhupendra Singh alias Munna, said Ramdhani,a villager in his sixties.

Another villager,Ram Chandra Rajbhar,added: A section of Rajbhar voters chose the Bhartiya Samaj Party candidate,Sushila Rajbhar.

The split in the Dalit votes does not bode well for Sukhdev,who is the BSPs most prominent face from the community in eastern UP. Earlier associated with the Akhil Bhartiya Rajbhar Parishad,Sukhdev was brought into the BSP fold by party founder Kanshiram.

Interestingly,the villagers showed sympathy for the BSP. We have no grievance against the BSP,but we were against Sukhdev Rajbhar, said Akhilesh Ram.

While Muslims are in majority in Bhado village,which has over 4,000 voters,Rajbhar and Dalits are present in almost equal numbers.