Second coming for Lohiaite turned Congman Beni Verma

LUCKNOW: One of the most powerful Backward Caste leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Socialist Beni Prasad Verma has made a dramatic comeback in his new avatar as a Congress Union minister.

The minister of state (independent charge) rank would be a let down for the former confidante of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. For, he was a Cabinet Minister for Communications in the Deve Gowda government . But the return to power after a hiatus would prove to be a shot in the arm for him and his followers.

Beni, first elected in 1974 as a Bhartiya Kranti Dal MLA became a minister in UP in 1977. He is known as a temperamental leader and despite many years in power maintains a rustic lifestyle. He is often at odds with Congress leaders and is still to adapt to the polished ways of dyed-in-the-wool Congressmen.

Beni Prasad Verma was a founding member of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party in 1992. He is an influential leader of the Kurmi community, which was an important votebank of SP.

He was a powerful minister in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s governments, after which he debuted as an MP in 1996 from Kaiserganj constituency. When Yadav joined the Deve Gowda cabinet as the Defence Minister, Beni was appointed Communications Minister.

The ascendancy of Mulayam’s friend-turned-foe Amar Singh saw many old timers in SP feeling suffocated . Though his son Rakesh Verma was appointed Prison’s Minister in the last Mulayam government of 2004, Beni felt neglected within the SP even as other Kurmi leaders like Sone Lal Patel of Apna Dal and Om Prakash Singh and Viney Katiyar of BJP continued to gain political stature as Backward leaders.