amid-high-voltage-rs-polls-in-up-sp-chief-akhilesh-fears-cross-voting

Amid fears of cross-voting by Samajwadi Party MLAs in the Rajya Sabha polls on Tuesday, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said those who are looking for “profit” in the situation will leave.

 

Asked about the absence of some party MLAs from a party meeting on the polls called on Monday, Yadav said, “Those who wanted to profit from the situation will go… Those who put spikes in someone else’ path or dig holes for others themselves fall,” Yadav said in a swipe at the BJP.

 

“You have seen what happened in Chandigarh in front of CCTV cameras. I thank the Supreme Court which saved the Constitution. BJP can adopt all tricks to win elections. It must have given assurance (to some MLAs) of some profit… BJP will do anything to win,” he said.

 

Speaking to sources, SP’s national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary had admitted that eight MLAs did not attend the dinner and meeting called by Yadav. However, he did not name the MLAs.

 

The BJP has fielded eight candidates and the opposition Samajwadi Party three for 10 Rajya Sabha seats for which voting is being held.

 

The ruling BJP and SP, the principal opposition, have the numbers to send seven and three members, respectively, to the Upper House of Parliament but with the BJP fielding Sanjay Seth as its eighth candidate, a keen contest is on the cards for one of the seats.

 

Seth, an industrialist and former SP leader, joined the BJP in 2019. Any cross-voting from SP leaders could get Seth elected.

 

BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) has 13 seats, NISHAD Party has six seats, RLD has nine, SBSP six, Jansatta Dal Loktantrik two and the BSP has one seat. Four seats are currently vacant.

 

The seven other candidates fielded by the BJP are former Union minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, general secretary of the party's Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant, party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain.

 

The Samajwadi Party has fielded actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman.