Congress leader Imran Masood expressed his support on Monday for a proposal to divide Uttar Pradesh into smaller states. He argued that the state’s large geographical size complicates both administration and travel, making governance more challenging. Masood’s comments highlight ongoing discussions about the feasibility and benefits of restructuring the state’s boundaries to improve efficiency.
‘I support the division of Uttar Pradesh. ‘The division of the state is inevitable. When the state is divided—encompassing regions like Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand, and Harit Pradesh, if you look at the area where we are currently seated, starting from Ambedkar Nagar, the Rajbhar community holds the largest vote share across the entire Purvanchal region. The proposal, however, did not move forward as the Centre took no further action.
Because it is a very big state and it will benefit the country, i would be very happy if Uttar Pradesh is divided. Therefore, for any party entering into an alliance, it will be a predetermined condition that the Chief Minister of the future Purvanchal state will be from the Rajbhar community’, Rajbhar said. Uttar Pradesh is such a big state that if you have to travel from one corner to another, it takes more than 24 hours. He also said people in Western Uttar Pradesh have to travel around 800 kilometres to seek justice. In 2011, the Mayawati-led BSP government passed a resolution in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly proposing the division of the state into four regions.
Masood was responding to recent remarks made by Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, who said Uttar Pradesh could eventually be divided into four parts. Rajbhar has said the proposed regions would include Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh. Masood said he would support the division of Uttar Pradesh and argued that breaking up the state could benefit the country. There are many countries in the world that are smaller than Uttar Pradesh’, Masood said. He also said that if Purvanchal were carved out as a separate state, having a Chief Minister from the Rajbhar community would be a non-negotiable condition for any future electoral alliance.
Rajbhar earlier in the day revived the debate over dividing India’s most populous state, calling the move inevitable.
