LUCKNOW, Nov. 9 -- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has brought back the party's former national coordinator Jai Prakash Singh and entrusted him with new responsibilities. Singh has now been appointed the party's in-charge in West Bengal and Odisha, signalling a strategic expansion move by the BSP in eastern India.

By bringing back senior leaders like Jai Prakash Singh, Mayawati appears to be making an effort to regain lost political ground ahead of the upcoming elections. With this latest decision, the BSP seems to be hinting that its doors remain open for former loyalists willing to return to the party fold and contribute to its revival.

A senior party functionary said Mayawati met Singh in Delhi on Friday and decided to bring...