Mayawati welcomes U.P. govt. decision to restore Sant Ravidas Nagar district name, hits out at Samajwadi Party

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president, Mayawati, on Friday (July 31, 2026), welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to restore the name of the Bhadohi district to Sant Ravidas Nagar and requested the BJP government to similarly revive the original names of other districts created during the BSP rule.

“As is well known from media reports, the present government of U.P. has re-established Sant Ravidas Nagar district, which was created by the BSP government by giving headquarters status to Bhadohi and which was changed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government due to its narrow casteist mindset, for which the party is grateful to the State government,” wrote Ms. Mayawati on X. 

The BSP chief added, “In fact, during the four BSP governments in U.P., in order to streamline the administrative system and improve public welfare, many new districts, tehsils, development blocks, police zones and ranges were created and many of these districts were named after great saints, gurus and great men born from time to time among the Dalit and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). In this sequence, many new districts like Sant Ravidas Nagar, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, Bhim Nagar, etc. were created, whose names were changed by the SP government only due to its casteist thinking, hatred and narrow politics, which people will never be able to forget,”.