Once seen as the right-hand man of Yogi Adityanath, at least till he became the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister three years ago, former chief of Hindu Yuva Vahini Sunil Singh on Saturday joined the Samajwadi Party.
Mr. Singh was inducted into the SP in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. Some Bahujan Samaj Party leaders also joined the SP at the party headquarters here.
Mr. Singh and some others were expelled from HYV, formed by Adityanath in 2002, on charges of indiscipline in 2017. He had then created a splinter outfit and declared himself its national president.
Welcoming Mr. Singh and others to the SP fold, Mr. Akhilesh said, “The days of the Adityanath government are numbered and the countdown has already begun.”
He said the BJP government has slapped cases against the Opposition leaders for protesting against its policies. “The government is doing injustice from day one and false cases are being lodged for protesting,” said Mr. Akhilesh. He added that the BJP is only promoting communalism and creating a Hindu-Muslim divide.
On the occasion, Mr. Mulayam Singh termed the youth as the future of the SP and said that farmers, youth and traders have to be strengthened to make India a developed country.
Mr. Singh’s shift of loyalty assumes significance as the HYV was founded to promote “Hindutva and nationalism” and went on to play a significant role in shaping Adityanath’s political rise in the State. But signs of strain were noticed when some ambitious HYV members sought to contest the State Assembly polls, a demand rejected by the BJP, triggering massive resentment within the outfit.
