Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is also a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, said on Friday that two of his party MLAs are most likely to cross-vote in the upcoming election to 10 Rajya Sabha seats—something that will impact the ruling BJP’s strategy of winning an eighth seat and will strengthen the SP’s hope of gathering the extra numbers needed to secure a third seat.
Speaking to a private news channel at his house here, Rajbhar said Abbas Ansari (Mau Sadar seat) and Jagdish Narayan Rai (Jaunpur’s Zafrabad seat) “are their (SP) people”. He noted that although the two contested and won the 2022 UP assembly polls on SBSP tickets, they originally belonged to the SP camp. “These two MLAs are known for putting the SP flag on their vehicles. They have been with the SP since 2022. It’s nothing new and I am not shocked,” he added.
His remarks come a day after Abbas Ansari met SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, fuelling speculation about possible cross-voting. Abbas Ansari and Jagdish Narayan Rai were not available for comment.
Under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation used for Rajya Sabha election, each candidate requires approximately 37 first-preference votes, given the current effective strength of the Uttar Pradesh assembly (397 against a full house of 403, following recent vacancies caused by deaths of some legislators).
The BJP-led NDA, with roughly 288–294 MLAs including allies, is positioned to secure seven seats comfortably and is eyeing an eighth one. The SP, with around 101 MLAs plus the support of two Congress legislators (taking the bloc to around 103), is assured of two seats.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP-led NDA, with roughly 288–294 MLAs including allies, is positioned to secure seven seats comfortably and is eyeing an eighth one. The SP, with around 101 MLAs plus the support of two Congress legislators (taking the bloc to around 103), is assured of two seats.
{{/usCountry}}After accounting for the votes needed for those two, the party is left with a surplus of roughly 21–29 votes and falls short by about 8–17 additional first-preference votes for a viable third candidate, according to varying calculations circulating in political circles.
The SP has already named two candidates—veteran party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and industrialist Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani—and has indicated that it may field a third nominee. Polling is scheduled for October 16, with nominations closing on October 6. The terms of the outgoing members expire on November 25.
In the previous (2024) Rajya Sabha polls from the state, the BJP secured eight seats while the SP won two as the SP’s third candidate was defeated amid reported cross-voting.
Abbas Ansari, the elder son of the late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, 34, won the Mau Sadar seat in 2022 on an SBSP ticket as part of the then SP-led alliance, defeating the BJP candidate by over 38,000 votes.
Jagdish Narayan Rai (also referred to as Jagdish Narayan), 73, bagged Jaunpur’s Zafrabad seat in the 2022 UP assembly polls, defeating his nearest BJP rival by a margin of around 6,300 votes.
Earlier on Thursday, SP chief Akhilesh said at an event in Lucknow, “Elections are a time for coming together. It is a time to set aside past mistakes and return to one’s principles. Those colleagues who feel that our democracy, Constitution, and economy are under attack should put the past behind them and return.”
Meanwhile, commenting on Abbasi Ansari’s meeting with Akhilesh Yadav, SP spokesperson Abbas Haider said, “Political meetings are a normal part of public life. Leaders and legislators from different parties often meet and there is nothing unusual about it.”