Eight Samajwadi Party MLAs skip Rajya Sabha poll eve dinner in Lucknow, cause a flutter

The development triggered speculation of a major breach by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) camp into the Samajwadi Party ranks

The absence of eight Samajwadi Party MLAs from the meeting and the dinner hosted by party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Monday evening has sent the SP camp in a tizzy ahead of Tuesday’s voting for the Rajya Sabha polls.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has called a meeting of party MLAs in Lucknow on Tuesday morning. (FILE PHOTO)

The development triggered speculation of a major breach by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) camp into the Samajwadi Party ranks. By fielding an extra (eighth) candidate in the Rajya Sabha poll arena, the BJP has already necessitated voting.

Amid the fast-paced developments, Akhilesh Yadav has summoned all SP MLAs to the party office at 10am on Tuesday to tell them voting preferences.

The SP’s chief whip in U.P. assembly Manoj Pandey and seven other MLAs--Abhay Singh, Rakesh Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, Maharaji Prajapati, Pooja Pal and Pallavi Patel -- did not show up at the meeting and dinner hosted by Akhilesh Yadav at the party’s state headquarters in Lucknow Monday. None of these MLAs were available for comment as either their phones were switched off or went unanswered.

When asked about the eight absent MLAs, Samajwadi Party lawmaker Ravidas Mehrotra said: “All the three SP candidates will win. Two MLAs of Raja Bhaiya’s party will vote for the SP and so will two MLAs each of RLD and SBSP. None of the SP MLAs will cross vote. Those SP MLAs who did not turn up today will reach the SP office at 10am on Tuesday and then vote for the SP candidates.”

At the meeting, Akhilesh will allot a quota of MLAs for each of the three SP candidates for voting preference. Thereafter, SP MLAs are supposed to go to the UP Vidhan Bhavan together.

For now, the situation in the SP camp is in stark contrast to the BJP camp, which has been displaying confidence.

The absence of the MLAs made the SP candidates’ fate all the more uncertain contrary to the confidence that the SP camp had been displaying earlier that all its three candidates would win.

In the changed circumstances, the fate of ex-bureaucrat Alok Ranjan hangs in the balance as his position is the most vulnerable.

If there is cross-voting from the SP, then only two party candidates would win. The SP has fielded Ramji Lal Suman (a Dalit), actor and SP RS member Jaya Bachchan (an upper caste), and former UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan (an upper caste). The SP had also been facing heat within and outside the party by fielding two upper caste and no Muslim or non-Yadav OBC for the polls in contrast to its PDA (backwards, Dalit, minorities) formula.

Earlier, on Sunday, Manoj Pandey, the SP’s Unchahar (Rae Bareli) MLA and chief whip, said: “The SP flock is together and all our three candidates will win.”

Among the SP MLAs who did not show up at the meeting, there had been doubts about Rakesh Pandey since his son Ritesh Pandey, the Ambedkar Nagar MP, joined the BJP after quitting the BSP.

As for Pallavi Patel, the SP camp said she had committed to Akhilesh that she will vote for the party’s Dalit candidate.