Mayawati’s trusted officer and prominent dalit face Brij Lal Joins BJP

LUCKNOW: One of Mayawati’s most-trusted officers and a prominent Dalit face, retired IPS officer Brij Lal, is all set to join BJP in Lucknow on Wednesday. Brij Lal had sterling career and rose to become the state’s DGP during Mayawati’s regime.

Lal was Mayawati’s trusted officer. He was first made additional director-general of law and order and later the state DGP. He also enjoyed the confidence of former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh and is known as an effective administrator.

Brij Lal enjoys a lot of popularity among Dalit officers and his joining BJP will help it attract more Dalits, which the party has been assiduously wooing. A few more officers led by Brij Lal are likely to join BJP in the days to come.

Brij Lal who retired in November 2014, had recently met Governor Ram Naik and later had meetings with senior BJP leadership in Delhi. The 1977 batch IPS officer had an outstanding career taking on hardcore criminals and mafia elements in his 11 field postings.

He held the multiple charge of ADG-Law and Order, Crime, Special Task Force and Anti-Terrorist Squad during Mayawati’s tenure as chief minister from 2007 to 2012. He was later promoted as the state’s top cop and made DGP during the last months of Mayawati’s regime. The Election Commission had later removed him from the DGP’s post during the run up to the 2012 assembly polls on complaints by the Samajwadi Party and Congress that he was acting like a BSP agent.