Overview
- Dharmendra Kashyap formally resigned from the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in a public event with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.
- Kashyap’s move followed his omission from the BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate list, which named Dharampal Singh and Shruti Gangwar and prompted his October 7 social media ‘Tata Bye-Bye’ post.
- At the press conference he accused the state government of poor law and order and said bulldozer actions were being used against poor and marginalized communities rather than against perpetrators from his own caste.
- Kashyap joined the SP with his daughter Kirti and several local leaders including Abid Ali, and the party is weighing Kirti as a possible candidate for the Bithri Chainpur assembly seat.
- A former SP member who won Aonla in 2014 and 2019 and lost narrowly in 2024, Kashyap’s return strengthens SP outreach in Rohilkhand and could reshape OBC vote dynamics and candidate selection in key Bareilly-area contests.