UP polls: Big boost for Akhilesh Yadav as two sitting MLAs jump ship to Samajwadi Party

In a major boost for Akhilesh Yadav on December 12, BJP MLA Digvijay Narayan and BSP MLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari joined Samajwadi Party ahead of the UP polls. While Narayan lost from Khalilabad in the 2012 polls against a Peace Party candidate, he tasted success in 2017. On the other hand, Chillupar legislator Vinay Shankar Tiwari was expelled from BSP on Monday for indulging in indiscipline and misbehaving with senior office-bearers of the party. An influential leader in the Gorakhpur region, he had unsuccessfully contested against UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Speaking to the media, Narayan remarked, "Our main problem was the sugarcane mill which was closed for many years. All small businesses were also shut. There is no bus station. The state of roads is miserable. I continuously waged a struggle for the problems of everyone including students and youths. But there was no solution to any of the problems. That's why I had to leave BJP and become a member of SP looking at Akhilesh Ji's previous tenure. I will work as a party worker". On this occasion, a large number of leaders from other parties including AAP and Congress also jumped ship to SP. 

UP polls

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP had won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Though some BJP leaders made conflicting statements over Adityanath's future as the Chief Minister, PM Modi put rest to all speculations by lauding UP's governance model during his successive visits to the state.

While Akhilesh Yadav has ruled out any alliance with Congress and BSP, he has hinted at allying with his uncle Shivpal Yadav. So far, SP has announced a tie-up with Mahan Dal, Rajbhar's SBSP and the Apna Dal faction of Krishna Patel. Amid speculation over Jayant Chaudhary's meeting with Akhilesh Yadav on November 23, sources told Republic TV that RLD is likely to be allocated 30-35 seats for the 2022 UP polls. Meanwhile, Yadav met they met  AAP's UP in-charge, Sanjay Singh, for about an hour in Lucknow a day later where a discussion was held on seat-sharing and other possibilities for the UP election.