The Crossbill News Desk
A fresh political debate over the proposed reorganisation of Uttar Pradesh has emerged after state minister and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar claimed that the state would eventually be divided into four parts, with a separate Purvanchal state headed initially by a member of the Rajbhar community.
Speaking at a public meeting in Ambedkarnagar district on Sunday, Rajbhar referred to what he described as a “conversation” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that the proposed division of the state could be taken up after completion of the caste census. Rajbhar’s party is currently an ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, The Indian Express reported.
“Once the caste census is completed, there will be no problem in carrying out the division. We will divide the state after the caste census. This is what the Prime Minister of the country said,” the newspaper quoted Rajbhar as saying.
He went on to say that Purvanchal would have a Chief Minister from the Rajbhar community if it was carved out as a separate state.
“Aane wale dinon mein Pradesh ka chaar bhagon mein batwara hoga. Jis din Purvanchal raj alag hoga, sabse pehle Mukhyamantri koi hoga to Rajbhar ka beta Mukhyamantri Purvanchal ka hoga (In the coming days, the state is going to be divided into four parts. The day a separate Purvanchal state is created, the first Chief Minister will be a son of the Rajbhar community),” Rajbhar whose party is currently allied with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh said.
Rajbhar also outlined the four regions he envisaged as part of the proposed reorganisation.
He also named the four proposed regions: “Jab Pradesh ka batwara hoga to Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh. Purvanchal mein sabse jyada vote Rajbhar jati hai. Is nate, Purvanchal ka pehla CM Rajbhar hoga (When the state is divided, there will be Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh. The Rajbhar community has the largest vote base in Purvanchal. Therefore, Purvanchal’s first Chief Minister will be a Rajbhar).”
Rajbhar's remarks come as the demand for reorganising Uttar Pradesh continues to feature in state politics. Various political and regional groups have, at different times, advocated separate statehood for regions including Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, citing administrative distance, regional development concerns and the size of Uttar Pradesh.
The proposal has also been raised at the state-government level in the past. In 2011, the Assembly during the BSP government headed by then chief minister Mayawati passed a resolution proposing that Uttar Pradesh be divided into four states. The proposal did not subsequently receive approval from the Centre.
The four regions proposed at that time were Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Paschim Pradesh and Awadh Pradesh, differing from the four-region formulation mentioned by Rajbhar.
Rajbhar’s latest remarks have brought the long-running statehood debate back into focus at a time when Uttar Pradesh is heading towards its next Assembly election, scheduled for 2027. His linking of the proposed division to the caste census also places the issue alongside his continuing demand for greater distribution of benefits within the 27 per cent OBC reservation.
While Rajbhar presented the proposed division as a future development, there has been no announcement of a new formal government proposal to reorganise Uttar Pradesh into four states.
Speaking at a public meeting in Ambedkarnagar district on Sunday, Rajbhar referred to what he described as a “conversation” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that the proposed division of the state could be taken up after completion of the caste census. Rajbhar’s party is currently an ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, The Indian Express reported.
“Once the caste census is completed, there will be no problem in carrying out the division. We will divide the state after the caste census. This is what the Prime Minister of the country said,” the newspaper quoted Rajbhar as saying.
He went on to say that Purvanchal would have a Chief Minister from the Rajbhar community if it was carved out as a separate state.
“Aane wale dinon mein Pradesh ka chaar bhagon mein batwara hoga. Jis din Purvanchal raj alag hoga, sabse pehle Mukhyamantri koi hoga to Rajbhar ka beta Mukhyamantri Purvanchal ka hoga (In the coming days, the state is going to be divided into four parts. The day a separate Purvanchal state is created, the first Chief Minister will be a son of the Rajbhar community),” Rajbhar whose party is currently allied with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh said.
Rajbhar also outlined the four regions he envisaged as part of the proposed reorganisation.
He also named the four proposed regions: “Jab Pradesh ka batwara hoga to Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh. Purvanchal mein sabse jyada vote Rajbhar jati hai. Is nate, Purvanchal ka pehla CM Rajbhar hoga (When the state is divided, there will be Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh. The Rajbhar community has the largest vote base in Purvanchal. Therefore, Purvanchal’s first Chief Minister will be a Rajbhar).”
Rajbhar's remarks come as the demand for reorganising Uttar Pradesh continues to feature in state politics. Various political and regional groups have, at different times, advocated separate statehood for regions including Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, citing administrative distance, regional development concerns and the size of Uttar Pradesh.
The proposal has also been raised at the state-government level in the past. In 2011, the Assembly during the BSP government headed by then chief minister Mayawati passed a resolution proposing that Uttar Pradesh be divided into four states. The proposal did not subsequently receive approval from the Centre.
The four regions proposed at that time were Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Paschim Pradesh and Awadh Pradesh, differing from the four-region formulation mentioned by Rajbhar.
Rajbhar’s latest remarks have brought the long-running statehood debate back into focus at a time when Uttar Pradesh is heading towards its next Assembly election, scheduled for 2027. His linking of the proposed division to the caste census also places the issue alongside his continuing demand for greater distribution of benefits within the 27 per cent OBC reservation.
While Rajbhar presented the proposed division as a future development, there has been no announcement of a new formal government proposal to reorganise Uttar Pradesh into four states.
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