‘Alienated’, BSP MP Pandey joins BJP, Mayawati hits back

New Delhi, February 25

Days after attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lunch at the Parliament House complex, Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Ambedkar Nagar Ritesh Pandey on Sunday resigned from the party before joining the BJP hours later.

Hitting back, BSP supremo Mayawati, in a post on X, said the party won’t offer Lok Sabha ticket to MPs who strived for personal gains and fuelled negative discussions.

Posting his resignation on X, Pandey (42) lamented his “alienation” in the party. “I have not been called for meetings for a long time now. I am also not part of any discussions at the level of the leadership. I have on many occasions tried to meet you and senior leaders, but to no avail. I have now concluded that the party no longer needs my services or my presence. I have no option left but to resign from the primary membership of the BSP. The decision to cut ties with my party has been emotionally difficult,” Pandey said while thanking BSP chief Mayawati for guiding him since the start of his career.

Pandey was elected to the Lok sabha in 2019 from Ambedkar Nagar. His father Rakesh Pandey is a sitting SP MLA in Uttar Pradesh.

After joining the BJP in the presence of party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh and UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, Pandey lauded the leadership of PM Modi, saying he wanted to associate with his vision of Viksit Bharat. After Pandey’s resignation, Mayawati took to X and in veiled references said party MPs must introspect whether they protected the interests of their constituents and gave them time. “Is it possible to offer Lok Sabha ticket to MPs who strived for personal gains and fuelled negative discussions? The interests of the party are supreme,” Mayawati said.

She said the BSP was a movement dedicated to the mission of national icon BR Ambedkar. “This is the reason the BSP ideology, working and selection of candidates is different from those in other capitalist parties,” she said in clear swipes at Pandey.