The Bahujan Samaj Party has suspended senior leader and MLA Ramveer Upadhyay from the party for indiscipline and indulging in anti-party activities in the recent Lok Sabha election.
In his suspension letter, party general secretary Mevalal Gautam has accused Mr. Upadhyay of working against the interests of the party in Aligarh, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri constituencies. The Sadabad MLA has also been removed from the post of Chief Whip of the party in Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
Along with Satish Mishra, Mr. Upadhyay was the Brahmin face of the party and credited with conjuring up social engineering in Western Uttar Pradesh that catapulted BSP chief Mayawati to power during the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He got his rewards in the form of plum ministries such as Energy and Transport and party tickets for wife Seema Upadhyay and brother Mukul.
However, after the expulsion of another heavyweight Naseemuddin Siddiqui, his ouster seemed imminent. It was said that when Mr. Siddiqui held Mr. Mishra responsible for his ouster, Mr. Upadhyay sided with Mr. Siddiqui. This reportedly irked the BSP chief.
In 2018, when Mr. Mukul switched to the BJP, it seemed his elder brother was also on his way out but he stayed on.
The last straw was when his wife was denied ticket from Aligarh. The party offered her Fatehpur Sikri, which she won in the 2009 Lok Sabha election but lost in 2014 by a significant margin. Ms. Upadhyay refused at the last minute, straining the relations further.
Mr. Upadhyay is expected to put out his side of story in Hathras on Wednesday.
