E-Paper
Akhilesh adds ‘B’ to his PDA formula, names Mata Prasad Pandey as LoP
The SP aims to neutralise any misgivings among the upper caste that may have emerged after the rebellion of its Brahmin face, Manoj Pandey.
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav, playing what is being considered the PDA+B card, named Mata Prasad Pandey, a Brahmin, as the Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Sunday. This appointment comes shortly before the Monsoon session of the UP legislature begins on Monday. The post had been vacant since Akhilesh quit early last month when he resigned from his Karhal assembly membership after being elected as Member of Parliament from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 LS polls.
Moreover, Kamal Akhtar, a Muslim, has been named the chief whip of the party in the assembly. This dual move is seen as an effort to enhance the significance of the upper caste members within the party and its electorate, even as the SP continues to focus on PDA, Pichda (backwards), Dalits, and Alpsankhyak (minorities), which has been fruitful for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The party concentrated on the PDA formula, leading it to emerge as the largest single party in the Lok Sabha polls in UP with 37 seats, relegating the BJP to the second position with 33 seats.
Mata Prasad Pandey, 81, is the former UP Assembly Speaker and one of the seniormost MLAs in the SP. Before Mata Prasad Pandey, SP’s Unchahaar (Rae Bareli) MLA Manoj Pandey had been the face of Brahmin politics in the assembly. Akhilesh had appointed him as the chief whip, but Pandey rebelled during the Rajya Sabha polls in February and voted for the BJP candidates.
By appointing Mata Prasad Pandey to the position Akhilesh Yadav previously held, the party aims to neutralise any misgivings among the upper caste cadre and electorate that may have emerged due to the rebellion by SP MLAs Manoj Pandey, Abhay Singh, Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Vinod Chaturvedi, who were among the eight who rebelled in February.
“He is part of PDA—the A in PDA also stands for Agdey (forward castes),” said Rajendra Chaudhary, the national secretary and chief spokesperson of the SP.
Akhilesh named Mata Prasad Pandey the LoP after a meeting with party legislators (MLAs and MLCs) at the party’s state headquarters in Lucknow on Sunday, ending the protracted suspense. During the meeting, the SP legislators authorised Akhilesh to decide on the LoP.
Several names had been considered for the post over the last month, including Indrajeet Saroj (a Pasi Dalit), the deputy LoP in the UP assembly; Shivpal Yadav (a Yadav) who had been LoP when Mulayam Singh Yadav was the national president of the party; Ramachal Rajbhar (a non-Yadav OBC); Mehboob Ali (a Muslim); Toofani Saroj (a Pasi Dalit); and Mata Prasad Pandey (former Assembly Speaker). All of these contenders are veteran politicians who have won assembly polls multiple times.
By naming Pandey the LoP, Akhilesh aimed to prevent any disgruntlement among the other contenders, as none of them matched Pandey in seniority and experience in the assembly, where he had served as Speaker twice. Before the meeting, the party had assessed that there was no consensus among the top leaders on any of the other candidates for various reasons.
Soon after being named the LoP, Mata Prasad Pandey called on Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana.
Also, by naming Mehboob Ali as the chief whip, Akhilesh aims to elevate the status of Muslim MLAs and supporters. Akhilesh also named another Muslim MLA, Mahboob Ali, to the panel of presiding officers in the assembly. RK Verma has been appointed as the deputy chief whip. Mata Prasad Pandey is the MLA from Itwa (Siddharthnagar), Kamal Akhtar from Kanth (Moradabad), Mahboob Ali from Amroha, and RK Verma from Raniganj (Pratapgarh).
