BSP names Lalji Verma as legislature party leader

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has named Lalji Verma as leader of legislature party, a statement said on Wednesday.

Uma Shankar Singh has been appointed as the deputy leader in the Vidhan Sabha while old loyalist Ramveer Upadhyaya has been named as the chief whip. Hargovind Bhargava and Shah Alam have been made whips of the legislature party, it said.

Decimated in the state assembly, as it now has merely 19 legislators as against 80 in the outgoing state assembly, the BSP is now set to undertake a major reshuffle in the party`s organisational structure, with many being shown the door for the poor show.

Mayawati, soon after the poll results were out, had alleged rigging of the electronic voting machines (EVM`s), a claim rejected by the Election Commission.