Lucknow, June 25 -- The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has reopened its doors to Jitendra Singh Babloo, an accused in the 2009 Rita Bahuguna Joshi residence arson case, after nearly 14 years, setting the stage for a high-stakes contest in Ayodhya district in the assembly election where local strongmen are likely to play a role. The BSP move has also added a new dimension to the region's already charged electoral equations, especially as the BJP works to regain its hold in the district after losing the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat to the Samajwadi Party in 2024. While the SP is trying to challenge the BJP with its PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankyak) formula, the rebellion of SP MLA Abhay Singh (Goshainganj), a known local strongman, is likely to add an interesting flavour to the electoral battle in the district. Babloo, the then BSP MLA (2007-12) from Bikapur in Ayodhya (then Faizabad) district, hit the headlines in 2009 for his alleged involvement in setting fire to the house of the then Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Later, he fell out with the BSP leadership and was expelled from the party before the 2012 assembly polls on the charge of indulging in anti-party activities. On Monday (June 22), Babloo returned to the BSP fold with his supporters at a workers' conference organised by the party in Bikapur under the chairmanship of BSP state unit president Vishwanath Pal. "The return of Jitendra Singh Babloo will not only strengthen the party base, but also pave the way to win the support of the upper caste voters in the Ayodhya region," Pal said. When asked if Babloo will contest the 2027 assembly election from Bikapur, Pal said he had joined the party, and the decision on the assembly seat will be taken by the party leadership. Another BSP leader said the party plans to counter the influence of Abhay Singh who has shifted allegiance to the BJP. The party failed to open its account in Ayodhya in the 2022 assembly election and won only one seat across the state. However, the large turnout at a workers' conference indicates that the BSP will regain ground in the 2027 assembly election, he said. Babloo joined the BJP in 2021 but was expelled from the party after a controversy over his role in the arson at Joshi's house. Joshi had joined the BJP in October 2016. After winning the Lucknow Cantt assembly seat on the BJP ticket in 2017, she was made a cabinet minister in the BJP government. The BJP showed Babloo the door after Joshi and some senior BJP leaders registered a protest over his induction. Recently, SP MP from Faizabad Awadesh Prasad tried to induct Babloo into the SP but the party leadership turned down the proposal.Meanwhile, the BSP announced it will field Manoj Verma from the Akbarpur assembly constituency in Ambedkar Nagar district....