Ritesh Pandey, the MP for the Ambedkar Nagar constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has resigned from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on February 25, ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
He was inducted into the BJP in the presence of U.P.’s Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, State party chief Bhupendra Singh, party general secretary Tarun Chugh, and the BJP’s election in-charge for U.P. Baijayant Panda.
In his resignation letter addressed to BSP president Mayawati, which he also posted on X, Mr. Pandey said that he had not been called to party meetings “for a long time”, nor had the leadership of the party spoken to him.
“During this time, I continuously met workers and supporters of other parties in my area and was also involved in various works going on in the constituency. Hence, I have come to the conclusion that the party does not need my service and presence,” he said.
In her own post on X, BSP chief Mayawati said — without directly referring to Mr. Pandey — that the party was more than just a political outfit, but was rather a movement inspired by the Constitution’s framer B.R. Ambedkar.
“In such a situation, Lok Sabha MPs should self-examine whether they have acted in such a manner, and whether they have followed the tasks given by the party,” she said. Instead of doing that, she said that they were going “hither and thither”, spreading talk about the party’s weakness rather than their own, apprehending that they may not be repeated as candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
