Dinanath Bhaskar

Once a close associate of Kanshi Ram,[1] Dinanath Bhaskar was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh from the Chandauli constituency in 1993 on a BSP ticket.

[2] Around that time he was noted as a controversial character in the caste-ridden politics of Uttar Pradesh, much disliked by upper castes for his alignment with Dalits and other minorities and his exhortations to them to become militant.

[citation needed] Standing as an SP candidate in the 1996 assembly elections, he lost the contest in the Bhadohi constituency to Purnmasi Pankaj of the BJP.

He lost the seat to the BSP candidate, Archana Saroj, in 2007[5] and left the party after being denied a Vidhan Sabha ticket in a 2009 by-election.

[citation needed] Bhaskar resigned from the BSP on 4 April 2015, accusing it of selling its election candidacies,[6] and joined the BJP one month later.