Lucknow: The candidate for the post of mayor of Samajwadi Party from Shahjahanpur has got a setback. Archana Verma joined the BJP on Sunday. She joined the saffron outfit in the presence of Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and senior BJP leader and Shahjahanpur MLA Suresh Khanna.
Archana, a Kurmi, is the daughter-in-law of Ram Murti Verma, a four-time SP MLA and former UP minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government. Verma had been winning from Akbarpur constituency in Ambedkar Nagar till 2017 when he lost to BSP’s Ram Achal Rajbhar. After Rajbhar switched to the SP, Verma was asked to contest from the Tanda assembly seat in Shahjahanpur, which he won. Her son and Archana’s husband Rajesh Verma contested from Dadraul assembly seat on SP ticket, but lost to BJP’s Manvendra Singh.
Archana’s defection – an ex District Panchayat President In Shahjahanpur – Barely 10 days after joining the saffron camp, Akhilesh chose her as the party’s candidate for the post of mayor in the recently formed Municipal Corporation of Shahjahanpur. UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chowdhary later tweeted that Archana joined BJP after seeing the strong leadership of PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath and pro-people policies of the party.
Sources said Verma’s transfer to the BJP came even as the SP pushed its organizational machinery to take on the BJP, which has three ministers from the district — Suresh Khanna, Jitin Prasad and JPS Rathore. Sources said that the BJP held back-channel talks with Archana to join the saffron camp.
This is the second time within two years that the SP has suffered a setback in Shahjahanpur by joining the BJP. SP candidate during 2021 Panchayat elections Vinoo Singh Had jumped ship and joined BJP to contest elections District Panchayat Member. Later BJP was successful in getting its candidate Mamta Yadav elected unopposed as District Panchayat President.
Archana, a Kurmi, is the daughter-in-law of Ram Murti Verma, a four-time SP MLA and former UP minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government. Verma had been winning from Akbarpur constituency in Ambedkar Nagar till 2017 when he lost to BSP’s Ram Achal Rajbhar. After Rajbhar switched to the SP, Verma was asked to contest from the Tanda assembly seat in Shahjahanpur, which he won. Her son and Archana’s husband Rajesh Verma contested from Dadraul assembly seat on SP ticket, but lost to BJP’s Manvendra Singh.
Archana’s defection – an ex District Panchayat President In Shahjahanpur – Barely 10 days after joining the saffron camp, Akhilesh chose her as the party’s candidate for the post of mayor in the recently formed Municipal Corporation of Shahjahanpur. UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chowdhary later tweeted that Archana joined BJP after seeing the strong leadership of PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath and pro-people policies of the party.
Sources said Verma’s transfer to the BJP came even as the SP pushed its organizational machinery to take on the BJP, which has three ministers from the district — Suresh Khanna, Jitin Prasad and JPS Rathore. Sources said that the BJP held back-channel talks with Archana to join the saffron camp.
This is the second time within two years that the SP has suffered a setback in Shahjahanpur by joining the BJP. SP candidate during 2021 Panchayat elections Vinoo Singh Had jumped ship and joined BJP to contest elections District Panchayat Member. Later BJP was successful in getting its candidate Mamta Yadav elected unopposed as District Panchayat President.