Former two-time BJP MP from Aonla in Utar Pradesh’s Bareilly, Dharmendra Kashyap, on Sunday met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the state capital, sparking speculations about a new political equation.
Earlier this week, Kashyap, who represented the Aonla Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and again in 2019, resigned from the primary and active membership of the BJP.
Posting photographs of the meeting on social media, the SP chief described the interaction as a “friendly meeting” and said discussions focused on joint efforts to further strengthen, empower and activate the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) movement. “PDA alone can give respect and place to every ‘oppressed, distressed and insulted’ person,” Yadav wrote.
Party sources and local reports indicate Kashyap is unhappy after being overlooked for a Rajya Sabha berth. His daughter Kirti Kashyap accompanied him during the meeting. During the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, he served as a minister of state.
Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap, 58, hails from Bareilly and is an agriculturist by profession. He began his political journey at the grassroots, serving as a member of the area panchayat (1995–2000) and district panchayat (2000–2002). He first entered the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2002 (initially associated with the BSP) and was re-elected in 2007 on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Bareilly’s Sunha seat. In May 2013, he switched to the BJP.
