Former minister Ram Asrey Kushwaha joined the Samajwadi Party

Samajwadi Party leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav, present a ceremonial plaque to BJP leader Ram Asrey Kushwaha after he joined the party. (X/@samajwadiparty)

Former minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Asrey Kushwaha joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday (September 17, 2026).

The Samajwadi Party said the merger would strengthen the party’s reach among PDA social groups. The acronym PDA stands for ‘Pichhde’ (backward classes), Dalits and ‘Alpsankhyak’ (minorities), but at times the SP leadership has added other social groups to the fold.

A prominent leader from the Kushwaha social group, Mr. Kushwaha also served as an officer of “Kushwaha Kalyan Parishad”, a social organization working for the social group that falls under the category of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

He was associated with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the SP in the past. Apart from Mr. Kushwaha, many political workers from other parties like Vijay Kumar Singh from Aligarh, Anshu Dubey from Kannauj, Anoop Kashyap Pradhan, District President of Nishad Kannauj and Manoj Kumar Nishad joined the Samajwadi Party.

They all decided to form the Samajwadi Party government in the 2027 assembly elections. SP President Akhilesh Yadav welcomed all the leaders and added that the merger will strengthen the Samajwadi Party and the PDA movement.

“Mr Kushwaha is a senior leader, the merger will strengthen the party and the PDA movement. The Samajwadi Party government will be formed after the 2027 assembly elections and a social justice government will be in place,” Mr Yadav said.

“The entry of Ram Asrey Kushwaha, a former minister and senior OBC leader into the Samajwadi Party, after 13 years in the BJP, is a testimony that the OBC leaders feel suffocated by the BJP. It is a simple message that the first and foremost prerequisite is respect in political parties, which is lacking in the SCssh movement, will strengthen the BJP movement and other OBC leaders and others. and give impetus to the Samajwadi Party in consolidating votes for the Assembly elections in 2027,” said Sudhir Panwar, a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader.

Published – 18 Sep 2026 06:46 IST