General Secretary Salim Shervani joins ‘ignoring PDA’ chorus, quits SP post

Joining the bandwagon of leaders accusing Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav of “ignoring” PDA communities (Pichda, Dalit and Alpasankhyak) in the Rajya Sabha nominations, general secretary Saleem Shervani quit from his party post on Sunday.

Shervani’s resignation comes close on the heels of senior leader Swami Prasad Maurya and ally Apna Dal (Kamervadi) leader Pallavi Patel voicing their concerns on the SP’s choices for the February 27 Rajya Sabha polls. Patel has said she will not vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, and joined her party leaders in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Varanasi on Saturday.

The SP, which has nominated three candidates for the 10 seats going to polls from the state for the Upper House, nominated former IAS officer Alok Ranjan, actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan – both Kayasts – and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman as its candidates.

Meanwhile, in his resignation, Shervani pointed out that the Muslims were feeling “ignored” as SP’s nominations did not have a member from the community and questioned how the party was different from the BJP. “In the recent past, I have held discussions with you on the condition of the Muslim community had tried to convey to you that they are feeling ignored, and losing their trust in the SP… The feeling among them is that there is no secular front to take up their issues. I had requested you for a Rajya Sabha seat for the community (even when you did not consider my name). Your nominations make it clear that you do not accord importance to PDA, giving rise to the question of how you are different from the BJP?” he said in the letter addressed to Akhilesh.

A five-time MP from Badaun, Shervani had joined the SP in October 2020. He had been