Lucknow: Two-time Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Mubarakpur, Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali, joined the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday in the presence of national president Akhilesh Yadav and other senior leaders.
In the 2022 Lok Sabha bypoll in Azamgarh, Jamali, a BSP candidate, had played spoilsport for SP.
Announcing his decision to join the SP, Jamali said it was driven by his desire to oppose divisive forces which could be done only by strengthening Akhilesh Yadav’s commitment towards PDA – Pichhde (backward classes), Dalits, Alpsankhyak (minorities). He said his decision to join the SP was not based on any precondition of party post or authority.
“Broadly, there are only two political arenas in the country. One is divisive politics and the other talks of inclusive politics. I see PDA as the best bet as it talks of bringing together people from all castes and communities,” Jamali said.
The SP chief welcomed Jamali and recalled how the two had talked about coming together in the run up to the 2022 assembly polls. “Then Jamali approached me, but we could not get together due to some reasons. This time, I reached out to him, and he agreed to be a part of SP’s PDA movement,” Akhilesh said.
Elected as MLA from Mubarakpur assembly seat in 2012 and 2017 state elections, Guddu Jamali happens to be a Pasmanda Muslim who finished third in 2014 Lok Sabha polls but garnered 2.66 lakh votes despite being pitted against SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav who won the seat with 3.4 lakh votes.
In the 2022 bypoll, Jamali bagged 2,66,210 votes. Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua of the BJP won the election by a margin of just 8,000 votes. Nirahua got 3.12 lakh votes, while SP’s Dharmendra Yadav received 3.04 lakh votes.
Not surprisingly, in 2019 Lok Sabha polls when SP and BSP contested the elections jointly, SP Akhilesh Yadav won the Azamgarh seat by 2.59 lakh votes. With Guddu Jamali by its side, the SP is expected to finalise its candidate for Azamgarh seat within the next few days.
