A day after the nomination of Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Nathwani, a senior corporate executive associated with Reliance Industries, for the Rajya Sabha, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said he will announce the third candidate as soon as the party has the required numbers.
Speaking at a press conference at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, Yadav said, “Very soon we will have the required numbers; we are on it. Any such exercise needs a lot of patience as you have to speak with and convince people. Some of our people who had switched sides now want to come back because they are not satisfied with the saffron camp.”
In the 2024 Rajya Sabha polls, some SP MLAs had shifted loyalties to the BJP and cross-voted for the ruling party candidate. They include Manoj Pandey (Unchahar MLA), Abhay Singh (Gosaiganj MLA), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj MLA), Pooja Pal (Chail MLA), Vinod Chautrvedi (Kalpi MLA) and Rakesh Pandey (Jalalpur MLA). Pooja Pal is now UP BJP vice-president and Manoj Pandey has been inducted as a cabinet minister for the food and civil supplies department.
“The public has no faith in the BJP. The new generation is deeply upset with the party, and the Samajwadi Party intends to include measures in its manifesto specifically addressing jobs and employment for this demographic. The previous Samajwadi government distributed laptops, established an IT City, and launched services like ‘Dial 100’. Similar initiatives will be undertaken in the future, focusing on integrating technology to benefit farmers, the poor, and the new generation,” Yadav said.
{{/usCountry}}“The public has no faith in the BJP. The new generation is deeply upset with the party, and the Samajwadi Party intends to include measures in its manifesto specifically addressing jobs and employment for this demographic. The previous Samajwadi government distributed laptops, established an IT City, and launched services like ‘Dial 100’. Similar initiatives will be undertaken in the future, focusing on integrating technology to benefit farmers, the poor, and the new generation,” Yadav said.
{{/usCountry}}He also attacked the government on the condition of the Gorakhpur-Link Expressway.
“A 45-kilometre stretch of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway has developed 74 potholes. In contrast, the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, constructed during the SP government’s tenure, remains in excellent condition, is free of potholes, and requires no maintenance,” he said.