Was invited to attend Bharat Jodo Yatra, but decided not to go: Om Prakash Rajbhar

Lucknow, Jan 04: Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party president Om Prakash Rajbhar has claimed that he had received an invitation through Congress leader Salman Khurshid to attend Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, but decided not to participate after talking to party leaders.

Rajbhar, a former BJP ally, also said there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics.

''No one had imagined an alliance between the SP and BSP in Uttar Pradesh, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar and the BJP and PDP in Kashmir,'' he told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of joining hands with the BJP again.

He asserted the BJP is in a very strong position in Uttar Pradesh and no party has the power to defeat Narendra Modi.

On Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Rajbhar said it is ''successful in terms of the crowds gathering, but converting the crowd into votes is a big challenge.'' Speaking to reporters after a party meeting in Rasra here, the SBSP chief said he had received an invitation through Congress leader Salman Khurshid to attend the yatra, but he decided not to participate after talking to party leaders.

In response to a question, he said Sardar Patel united India. ''India is neither broken nor will it be broken. Leaders break and change sides.'' ''The Congress was in power in the country for a long time. Why didn't Congress spread love while it was in power? Those who used to vote for Congress earlier, today they are in BJP.'' He said the Congress failed to make a mark in the recent assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh as it did not forge an alliance. ''This is the era of coalition. The BJP government is the result of a coalition. Due to the alliance, SP has reached 125 seats from 47 seats in Uttar Pradesh,'' he said.

Rajbhar, a strong backward leader with influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh districts, fought the 2017 assembly election in with the BJP but later joined the SP-led alliance. It fought the 2022 assembly polls with the SP and won six seats but later parted ways with it too.