Manoj Kumar Pandey
The chief whip of the Samajwadi Party in the Assembly resigned this morning, giving the party a serious blow ahead of the election for ten Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Manoj Kumar Pandey, the Unchahar MLA, resigned a few hours after up to eight other MLAs failed to show up for a dinner hosted by Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the party. This was concerning given the heightened buzz surrounding cross-voting in the Upper House election.
Samajwadi Party in Parliament
Cross-voting will not only harm the SP’s chances in this crucial election but also increase the party’s concerns months before the general election. As part of the INDIA alliance, the SP will run for 63 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, so a rebellion months before the elections would be devastating.
Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that the BJP is putting pressure on the party’s MLAs. “This is how they work. They instil fear, threaten people, use agencies or take up any old case and pressure them. All these will not work in this election,” he said yesterday.
This morning, however, he was less confident. “We hope all three candidates of Samajwadi Party win. BJP can use all the tactics to win elections. BJP will do everything possible for victory. Some of our leaders who want personal gains can go to the BJP,” he said.
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Rajya Sabha polls
This year, a total of 56 Rajya Sabha seats became vacant. Eleven candidates were elected without any opposition. Ten are located in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka, and one in Himachal Pradesh out of the remaining. Eleven candidates are running for the ten seats in Uttar Pradesh: three are from the main opposition Samajwadi Party and eight are from the ruling BJP.
The BJP is sure that all of its candidates will win, especially now that it has the backing of the Rastriya Lok Dal, which is led by Jayant Chaudhary. “We have the support of Nishad Party, Suhel Dev Samaj Party, Apna Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Jansatta Dal. I am confident all 8 NDA candidates will win,” state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary has said.
A portion of the SP legislators were allegedly in contact with BJP leaders earlier. The main Opposition is concerned because eight MLAs did not attend last night’s dinner, despite the Akhilesh Yadav-led party’s denial of this.
Speaking to news agency ANI, SP legislator Zahid Baig said, “Many people did not come. Maybe they are busy. But if they have taken money (to cross-vote), people will not forgive them.”
Former Union Minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), general secretary of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, former mayor of Agra Naveen Jain, and Sanjay Seth are the eight candidates running for the BJP. Ramji Lal Suman, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and actor MP Jaya Bachchan are the candidates put forth by the SP. The BJP has enough members to win seven seats, but its decision to run an eighth candidate has compelled competition. And if there is cross-voting, it might succeed.
