Uttar Pradesh’s long-standing debate about a possible division of the state has been brought back into the national limelight after Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar made an explicit claim on the future of the state.
Speaking at an SBSP social harmony rally in Deoria in the last few weeks, Rajbhar said Uttar Pradesh could be divided into four parts, and linked the proposed creation of Purvanchal to the possibility of a Rajbhar community leader becoming its first Chief Minister.
Rajbhar’s remarks came at a political rally in Deoria on Sunday. According to reports, he said that Uttar Pradesh would eventually be divided into four parts. He further said that if Purvanchal were to be carved out as a separate state, a person from the Rajbhar community would become its Chief Minister.
Some reports even described the statement as a claim that his son could become the first Chief Minister of a separate Purvanchal.
The remarks are significant as the idea of dividing Uttar Pradesh is not new. The state is one of India’s biggest in terms of population and geographical spread and demands for creating smaller administrative units have surfaced periodically.
The proposed regions have included Purvanchal in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bundelkhand, western Uttar Pradesh and the central or Awadh region.
In 2011 there was a big political development on the issue when the then Mayawati-led Uttar Pradesh government passed a resolution on division of the state into four regions. Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, West Pradesh, and Awadh Pradesh were to become separate states and that resolution was sent to the Centre.
It is not possible to form four new states but the proposal was made.
As such Rajbhar’s speech here is a political statement, and not an announcement of an approved state reorganisation. According to his speech also, there is no new government decision or administrative order establishing a separate Purvanchal state or formally dividing Uttar Pradesh into four states.
The SBSP leader also tied his remarks to the issue of representation among Other Backward Classes. Rajbhar also renewed the call for sub-categorisation in Uttar Pradesh’s 27 per cent OBC reservation in Deoria rally. He called for distribution of benefits among backward communities based on their population and referred to the caste census debate on that issue.
The Purvanchal question is particularly important as it covers a big part of eastern Uttar Pradesh and has been a subject of discussion in the region on regional development, political representation and administrative restructuring. Rajbhar has advocated the creation of a separate Purvanchal state and his comments fit the pattern of his earlier positions.
His comment comes ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and adds another layer of political discourse to the state. Rajbhar’s claim about the future division of Uttar Pradesh should not be taken as proof that such a reorganisation has been approved. Making a new state in India is a constitutional process and a political leader’s statement alone does not make a new state.
For now, Uttar Pradesh is still a single state and whether it should be reorganised is still a matter of political debate. Rajbhar’s Deoria speech has brought the Purvanchal demand back into public discussion, especially on his claim about who would lead the proposed state if it were to become a reality.
