The Samajwadi Party (SP) is to launch a membership drive within weeks of the loss of its bastions – Rampur and Azamgarh – to the ruling BJP in the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha bypolls.
Party president Akhilesh Yadav will launch the membership drive from the SP’s state headquarters in Lucknow on Tuesday, the outfit’s chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said on Monday.
Earlier, on Sunday, in an important decision, Yadav had dissolved all SP executive bodies, wings, and frontal organisations.
It is believed that the membership drive is in preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the recent Lok Sabha by-elections, the party lost its stronghold Azamgarh and Rampur to the BJP. Yadav and senior party leader Azam Khan had resigned from Azamgarh and Rampur constituencies, respectively, after being elected MLAs in the assembly polls earlier this year. In the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the SP won 111 seats, while the BJP and its allies won 273 seats and retained power.