National People’s Party (NPP) president and MLA from Amber seat in Jaipur, Navin Pilania has joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Tuesday.
While addressing his supporters he said, “I would be contesting again from Amer and will file my nomination on November 15. People did not elect me to join BJP or Congress”.
He joined the BSP in the presence of party’s national vice president Ramji Lal Gautam, national general secretary Munkad Ali, state president Sitaram Meghwal and his supporters.
Ali said, “With Pilania joining the BSP, the party will be strong in Rajasthan. He will contest from Amer assembly constituency and file his nomination on November 15.”
Calling the smaller parties in the state to form a third front, Pilania said, “New parties are contesting elections, but this will only weaken the third front. If these small parties join the BSP, the third front will become strong and help people in choosing an alternative to both the Congress and the BJP. This will end the trend in Rajasthan of choosing one of these two parties every five year”.
Pilania also urged Ghanshyam Tiwari’s Bharat Vahini Party and Hanuman Beniwal’s Rastriya Loktantrik Party to have an alliance with the BSP to project a strong third front.
“BSP has huge scope in Rajasthan. Farmers are disappointed, Jats are disappointed as no Jat has become chief minister. If all SCs, STs, farmers, OBCs, other communities come together, then BSP can emerge as a strong party,” he added. Amer has around 40 thousand SC votes which is likely to shift to Pilania as himself is a Jat that falls under the OBC category.
Meanwhile, BSP chies Mayawati will be addressing election rallies in Rajasthan on November 25 and 26 and December 1 and 2 at Amer, Jhunjhunu, Bharatpur, Dausa, Bandikui, Karauli, Jalore and Ganganagar.
Pilania had earlier contested from Amer seat as a BJP candidate in 2003 and 2008, but had lost. When BJP denied him a ticket in 2013, he went on to join NPP and won.
Four MLAs had been elected from the NPP in 2013 but state president Kirodi Lal Meena joined BJP along with two other MLAs which included his wife Golma Devi earlier this year.
The state is set to go to polls on December 7.