Om Prakash Rajbhar, chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and a cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh, stated on Monday that splitting Uttar Pradesh into four smaller states is ‘inevitable.’ This remark reignites a long-standing discussion regarding the potential restructuring of India’s most populous state.
Rajbhar Community’s Demand for Chief Minister Position in Purvanchal State
Rajbhar, speaking to ANI, emphasized that for any future electoral alliance, a leader from the Rajbhar community must be appointed as the chief minister of the proposed Purvanchal state. He stated that this demand is non-negotiable.
“The division of the state is inevitable. When the state is divided—encompassing regions like Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand, and Harit Pradesh—if you look at the area where we are currently seated, starting from Ambedkar Nagar, the Rajbhar community holds the largest vote share across the entire Purvanchal region. The proposal to divide Uttar Pradesh has been debated in state politics for decades. Under the proposed four-way split, Purvanchal would comprise eastern Uttar Pradesh, while Madhyanchal or Awadh Pradesh would cover the central region. Bundelkhand would form the southern region, and Harit Pradesh or Paschim Pradesh would comprise western Uttar Pradesh. The proposal, however, did not progress as the Centre took no further action. “Akhilesh ji, it is good that you are holding a press conference. But when the Samajwadi Party was in power, it made several decisions impacting Dalits. They ended reservation in promotions for Dalits, affecting many employees.
Therefore, for any party entering into an alliance, it will be a predetermined condition that the Chief Minister of the future Purvanchal state will be from the Rajbhar community,” said Rajbhar. In 1955, BR Ambedkar proposed dividing Uttar Pradesh into three smaller states in his book Thoughts on Linguistic States. In 2011, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government passed a resolution in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly proposing the division of the state into four regions.
They are the same old people; they haven’t changed,” Rajbhar said.
Addressing attendees in the region, Rajbhar cited the community’s population and vote share across eastern Uttar Pradesh to support his demand.
