Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap Returns to Samajwadi Party After BJP Snub

On Tuesday, former BJP leader Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap announced his entry into the Samajwadi Party (SP). The move follows his exclusion from the ruling party’s list of Rajya Sabha candidates from Uttar Pradesh.

UP ex-minister Dharmendra Kashyap joins SP after BJP denies Rajya Sabha ticket New Indian Express‘Tata, bye-bye’ to BJP: Dharmendra Kashyap joins Samajwadi Party after being left out of Rajya Sabha candidate list

Kashyap, a prominent OBC figure from the Kashyap community in Rohilkhand, left the SP to join the BJP in May 2013. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Aonla in 2014 and again in 2019, but lost that seat by a narrow margin in the 2024 general election. Anticipating a Rajya Sabha nomination, he was ultimately omitted from the BJP’s candidate slate, which instead named state minister Dharampal Singh and Shruti Gangwar—daughter of former Union minister and ex-Jharkhand governor Santosh Gangwar—from Bareilly district. After the BJP’s announcement, Kashyap posted a sunset photo on Facebook on October 7, captioned “Tata Bye-Bye,” sparking speculation about a return to the SP.

New Indian Express‘Tata, bye-bye’ to BJP: Dharmendra Kashyap joins Samajwadi Party after being left out of Rajya Sabha candidate list UP ex-minister Dharmendra Kashyap joins SP after BJP denies Rajya Sabha ticket

At a press conference with SP president Akhilesh Yadav, Kashyap asserted that Uttar Pradesh residents were “fed up” with the BJP government because of what he described as poor law-and-order conditions. He also alleged that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s bulldozer actions targeted the poor rather than members of Kashyap’s caste. Yadav welcomed the OBC leader, stating that his joining would strengthen the SP ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections.

New Indian ExpressUP ex-minister Dharmendra Kashyap joins SP after BJP denies Rajya Sabha ticket ‘Tata, bye-bye’ to BJP: Dharmendra Kashyap joins Samajwadi Party after being left out of Rajya Sabha candidate list

• Lok Sabha victories: 2014, 2019 (Aonla constituency)

UP ex-minister Dharmendra Kashyap joins SP after BJP denies Rajya Sabha ticket

• 2024 Lok Sabha result: narrow defeat

UP ex-minister Dharmendra Kashyap joins SP after BJP denies Rajya Sabha ticket

• Rajya Sabha ticket list (BJP): Dharampal Singh, Shruti Gangwar

UP ex-minister Dharmendra Kashyap joins SP after BJP denies Rajya Sabha ticket

• Community representation: Kashyap is a leading figure of the Kashyap community in north-western Uttar Pradesh

‘Tata, bye-bye’ to BJP: Dharmendra Kashyap joins Samajwadi Party after being left out of Rajya Sabha candidate list

The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled for early next year. Kashyap’s shift to the SP is being positioned as a boost for the party’s OBC outreach as the contest approaches.

‘Tata, bye-bye’ to BJP: Dharmendra Kashyap joins Samajwadi Party after being left out of Rajya Sabha candidate list