LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party (SP) appears to be in no rush to file a petition seeking the disqualification of rebel MLAs, including former SP Chief Whip Manoj Pandey, who voted in favour of BJP candidates during the Rajya Sabha elections in February.
Besides Manoj Pandey, other MLAs who defied the party whip include Gosaiganj SP MLA Abhay Singh, Chail MLA Puja Pal, Gauriganj SP MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Rakesh Pandey, SP MLA from Jalalpur in Ambedkar Nagar.
The rebel MLAs also alleged that the SP leadership had not allowed them to visit the Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya on an invitation from UP assembly speaker Satish Mahana. After their rebellion, some of these MLAs visited the Ram Temple to seek Lord Ram’s blessings.
Commenting on the issue, SP spokesperson Sunil Singh ‘Sajan’ said, “Those who have betrayed the party and sided with the BJP will face stringent action in the assembly. If the speaker doesn’t act in time, we will approach the court.”
“There is no chance of taking back any rebel MLA. Strict measures have been adopted by our leadership, and if anyone dares to support them, that person will also be shown the door. The people of their constituencies will not forgive them for siding with those who commit atrocities against backward classes, Dalits, and minorities. We are fully prepared for bypolls in those seats as well,” he added Sunil Singh Sajan.
{{/usCountry}}“There is no chance of taking back any rebel MLA. Strict measures have been adopted by our leadership, and if anyone dares to support them, that person will also be shown the door. The people of their constituencies will not forgive them for siding with those who commit atrocities against backward classes, Dalits, and minorities. We are fully prepared for bypolls in those seats as well,” he added Sunil Singh Sajan.
{{/usCountry}}In response to Sajan’s statement, Manoj Pandey said, “I can’t comment on any speculations, let them do whatever they want.” Addressing rumours about a meeting with top BJP leadership in Delhi, Pandey added, “”I am sitting here in my constituency in Unchahar (Raebareli). I only came to know about some WhatsApp message circulating about my supposed meeting with BJP leaders in Delhi—it’s all baseless.”
Sources in the Samajwadi Party said that the party wanted disqualification of the rebel MLAs as soon as possible so that by-polls on these seats could be held along with the by-polls on 10 seats of Uttar Pradesh assembly.
Meanwhile, as part of his strategy for the 2027 U.P. elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is actively holding meetings with party workers, former MLAs, and MPs from various districts with focus on strengthening booth-level committees in constituencies the party won and identifying weaknesses in seats lost in previous elections.
Providing more details about these closed-door meetings, Sunil Singh Sajan said, “The SP chief is meeting party leaders and workers from all districts. We are analysing the reasons for our losses on one hand, while on the other, we are trying to understand what worked well for us in the areas where we succeeded in the last elections.”
He said that the party was also preparing for the upcoming bypolls on 10 assembly seats, with a focus on the PDA and other sections of society. As part of the strategy for the 2027 state assembly polls, booth-level committees were being restructured, he said.
Speaking on the review of seats allocated to allies in the last elections, Sajan said, “Our organisational structure is present across the entire state, and it is being reviewed by our national president, irrespective of which seats were given to alliance partners. On all seats, responsibility is being assigned to party workers at the booth level to engage people from all sections of society. In 2024, with the help of the PDA, the Samajwadi Party defeated the BJP, and now our focus is on 2027. We are confident we will wipe them out of the state.”