The Samajwadi Party may not have been able to taste electoral success in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh elections but that has not stopped the party from setting its eyes on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Sources told CNN-News18 that SP president Akhilesh Yadav and veteran Azam Khan are likely to resign as MLAs of the new state assembly to continue as members of Lok Sabha, given that the party with just 5 MPs is not ready to take the risk of by-elections for Lok Sabha.
While Akhilesh Yadav had won from Karhal, Azam Khan emerged victorious from Rampur. Akhilesh Yadav is also MP from Azamgarh.
Though official announcement is still awaited, sources say party top brass is of the opinion that going for by-elections to state assembly is strategically better placed than getting into a parliamentary bypoll.
The issue reportedly surfaced during Akhilesh Yadav’s meeting with alliance partner Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and Mahan Dal president Keshav Dev Maurya and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party – Lohia (PSP-L) president Shivpal Yadav who retained Jaswantnagar assembly seat contesting on SP symbol.
Several media reports said names of former Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Yadav and former Badaun MP Dharmendra Yadav have been mooted to replace Akhilesh in Karhal by the cadres from the Yadav belt. In Rampur, the possible candidate could be Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatima.
SP has called a meeting of all its newly elected MLAs on March 21, where the issue is likely to be discussed.
The BJP stormed back to power with 255 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The SP bagged 111 seats, a significant improvement from its 2017 tally when it secured only 47 seats.
Despite BJP’s wave, Akhilesh Yadav won the Karhal seat by defeating Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) SP Singh Baghel with a margin of 67,504 votes. On the other hand, Azam Khan secured victory on the Rampur seat by a vote margin of 55,141, defeating BJP’s Akash Saxena.
As per sources, Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav is likely to be given the responsibility of Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly after the sitting LoP Ram Govind, who was contesting on the Bansidh seat, lost by a vote margin of 21,352 to BJP’s Ketakee Singh.
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