SBSP chief explores options for non-BJP front in Bihar polls
"We are keeping all options open in case our alliance with the BJP in Bihar does not happen," SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar told TOI on Saturday.
Rajbhar, a minister in the Yogi cabinet, said his party is in talks with multiple smaller parties, including Prashant Kishore's Jan Suraaj Party and Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
Rajbhar said his party plans to contest at least 156 out of 243 assembly seats in Bihar.
"It all depends on what and how the situation arises. We want to make our presence felt in Bihar where we have been active for the past many years," he said.
Sources said Rajbhar has been bargaining hard with the BJP for a "respectable" number of seats in certain pockets of Siwan, Champaran, Saran, Gopalganj, and Buxar, which have a sizable presence of Rajbhar, Rajvanshi, Rajdhobi, and Bhar communities. The party also aims to consolidate castes like Patwa and Mandal.
Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) form a significant voting bloc in Bihar. According to an estimate, it is over 30% of the total electorate.
Sources said Rajbhar has held meetings with the BJP brass, including home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda, in his bid to get some poll space in Bihar.
Rajbhar exploring the option of a third front is a significant development. Experts said SBSP's chief action may be seen through the lens of coalition politics, electoral bargaining, and regional caste dynamics.
They added that Rajbhar's political influence is rooted in OBC and Dalit mobilisation, primarily in eastern UP. His expansion in Bihar is seen as an attempt to replicate the model across the border.
Sources said SBSP aims to consolidate non-dominant OBC groups, especially those feeling underrepresented by bigger players like RJD or JD(U). Rajbhar's plan to explore a new equation had its bit of strategic elements. Jan Suraaj Party offered a platform-driven movement with "clean governance" as its plank. Likewise, Sahni's VIP was another political group eyeing the non-Yadav OBC and Dalit vote bank.
Experts said that the third front, if it materialises, might split the floating OBC/Dalit voters. This would not only help the BJP indirectly, but also hurt Lalu Prasad's RJD, which is eyeing a return to power.
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