UP Election 2022: SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar makes bizarre and illegal promise

Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party head Om Prakash Rajbhar made an unusual pledge on Wednesday, promising to waive a challan for riding a bike with three pillions if the party's coalition with the Samajwadi Party is elected to power in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2022. "A train transports 300 passengers on 70 seats and does not issue challans. Why is a challan required if three individuals ride a bike? When our government takes power, three riders will be permitted to ride a bike for free; otherwise, challans would be placed on jeeps and trains," SBSP founder and leader OP Rajbhar remarked.

Rajbhar is fighting the polls in alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. Previously, Rajbhar had accused the BJP of "harbouring" the likes of Ajay Mishra Teni, accused of killing four farmers during the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Rajbhar, a former minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led cabinet, also alleged that the BJP had no respect for backwards and Dalits, and had committed atrocities on students demanding jobs amid growing unemployment. 

Meanwhile, former Samajwadi Party MLA Syeda Shadab Fatima has thrown a wrench into the SP-SBSP alliance by opting to run as an independent in the Zahoorabad assembly seat now held by Rajbhar. Rajbhar has claimed that the BJP had aided Fatima in order to secure his loss from the seat. However, Rajbhar, a former BJP supporter who subsequently joined hands with SP head Akhilesh Yadav shortly before polls, stated that Fatima is only a puppet playing in the hands of the BJP.

Also Read: UP Election 2022: Noida's DM urges citizens to 'vote as if lives depend on it'

Also Read: UP Election 2022: Over 600 candidates on 58 seats in fray in first phase

Also Read: UP Election 2022: Poll survey predicts Yogi Adityanath returning to power, SP’s vote share declining

• Om Prakash Rajbhar
• Samajwadi Party
• Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party
• UP Election 2022
• Lakhimpur Kheri violence