He can't even handle his own uncle, his sister-in-law, how will he.....? Om Prakash Rajbhar takes a jibe at SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

Om Prakash Rajbhar's proximity to the ruling BJP was visible in the presidential election. After the SP's defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.

Zee News file pic

Jaunpur: Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Monday (July 25) took a potshot at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for not being able to control his family members. Rajbhar further added that if the SP chief failed to handle his own uncle Shivpal Yadav, how would he be able to me? He is seen talking to media persons in an ANI video.

"Alright, he says that I am wrong. But Shivpal is his uncle...He (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) cannot even handle his own uncle, his sister-in-law, his own family, how would he handle me?," ANI quoted the SBSP chief, taking a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav.

#WATCH | Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh: "Alright, he says that I am wrong. But Shivpal is his uncle...He (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) cannot even handle his own uncle, his sister-in-law, his own family, how would he handle me?," SBSP chief, OP Rajbhar takes a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav (24.07) pic.twitter.com/8acVQQG3Iy

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 25, 2022

On Sunday, Rajbhar said that his party is no longer in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and indicated that he could be cosying up to the BSP. His remarks came a day after the Samajwadi Party (SP) wrote to Rajbhar and Shivpal Singh Yadav that they are free to go wherever they feel they can get more respect. The SP also accused Rajbhar of hobnobbing with the BJP. 

Rajbhar told reporters that Akhilesh Yadav was doing politics from "air-conditioned rooms" instead of working in the field. To a question on forging alliances, the SBSP chief said, "Some party leaders are of the view that we should go with the BSP. I also personally feel that we should speak with the BSP. The BSP performed well in the recent bypolls held in Azamgarh."

The BSP chief "Mayawati spends more time in the field as compared to Akhilesh Yadav," he said while accusing Akhilesh Yadav of bias in the distribution of tickets in the recent UP Assembly elections. 

The Samajwadi Party had fought the assembly polls together with Jayant Chaudhary's RLD, Rajbhar's SBSP, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) of Shivpal Yadav, Keshav Dev Maurya's Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party, but there was speculation about it falling apart as the alliance failed to dislodge the BJP.

The Mahan Dal and the Janwadi Party have already severed ties with the SP, which is now left with only RLD and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) as alliance partners. 

Om Prakash Rajbhar's proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was visible in the presidential election. After the SP's defeat in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha bypolls, Rajbhar had advised Akhilesh Yadav to go among the people and not do politics from an air-conditioned room.

Rajbhar, whose party won six seats in the recent state assembly elections, is a strong backward leader with influence in eastern UP districts. He fought the 2017 assembly election in UP with the BJP but later parted ways to join the SP-led alliance for the 2022 Assembly polls.

(With PTI Inputs)