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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Samajwadi Party expels 3 MLAs accused of cross-voting in 2024 RS polls
LUCKNOW: The Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party on Monday expelled three legislators, who allegedly voted to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the Rajya Sabha polls in February last year, declaring that the three had been working with 'communal, divisive, and negative ideologies' which were against the party's core values. Lucknow, Jun 22 (ANI): Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav addresses a press conference, at party office in Lucknow on Sunday. (ANI Photo) (ANI) The three lawmakers, Gosaiganj MLA Abhay Singh, Gauriganj MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Unchahar MLA and former chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey, are also among the seven who voted in favour of BJP candidates during the Rajya Sabha elections in February 2024. The cross-voting had helped the BJP win 8 out of the 10 seats, though the SP had the numbers to claim at least three seats. The SP said the 'grace period' given to these legislators for a change of heart had expired. There is no room in the party for individuals who act against public welfare or its core ideological framework. The SP announced the expulsion of the three legislators on X, accusing them of supporting forces that are anti-farmer, anti-women, anti-youth, anti-business, anti-employment, and against the rights of the marginalised. 'Samajwadi Party expels the following MLAs from the party in public interest for supporting communal divisive negativity and anti-farmer, women, youth, business, employed and 'anti-PDA' ideology, contrary to the politics of socialist harmony and positive ideology. MLA Gosaiganj Abhay Singh, MLA Gauriganj Rakesh Pratap Singh and MLA Unchahar Manoj Kumar Pandey,' the party said in a statement. The grace period for the other four legislators who had supported the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections has not ended due to good behaviour, it said. These four legislators include Bisauli MLA Ashutosh Maurya, Kalpi MLA Vinod Chaturvedi, Chail MLA Puja Pal and Jalalpur MLA Rakesh Pandey. SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand said the three legislators had been working against the PDA [Pichda (backward), Dalit, Alpsankyhak (minority)] and had been speaking in favour of the wrongdoings of the BJP. 'They were given time to improve but unfortunately, they continued to speak against PDA, hence this action was taken by the party,' Chand said. The SP had fielded three candidates – incumbent MP Jaya Bachchan, former chief secretary Alok Ranjan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman - for the February 2024 elections. Only Jaya Bachchan and Ramjilal Suman won while Alok Ranjan lost due to cross voting. At the time, the rebel MLAs had claimed that the SP leadership hadn't 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.
Scroll.in
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Samajwadi Party expels 3 UP MLAs who cross-voted in 2024 Rajya Sabha polls
The Samajwadi Party on Monday expelled three of its MLAs from Uttar Pradesh who had cross-voted in support of the Bharatiya Janata Party during Rajya Sabha elections last year. Gosaiganj MLA Abhay Singh, Gauriganj MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Unchahar MLA and former chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey were the legislators who were removed. They were among seven party members who had cross-voted in Uttar Pradesh's Rajya Sabha elections in February 2024. The cross-voting had led to the defeat of one of the three candidates put forward by the Samajwadi Party in that election. समाजवादी सौहार्दपूर्ण सकारात्मक विचारधारा की राजनीति के विपरीत साम्प्रदायिक विभाजनकारी नकारात्मकता व किसान, महिला, युवा, कारोबारी, नौकरीपेशा और 'पीडीए विरोधी' विचारधारा का साथ देने के कारण, समाजवादी पार्टी जनहित में निम्नांकित विधायकों को पार्टी से निष्कासित करती है: 1. मा.… — Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) June 23, 2025 The Samajwadi Party said on Monday that the three legislators were expelled for 'supporting an ideology which is against farmers, women, youth, businesses, working professionals and PDA [Pichde, Dalit and Alpasankhyak]'. PDA is a term used by the party for 'pichde' (backward classes), Dalits, and 'alpasankhyak' (minorities) to denote a social coalition of marginalised communities. The Samajwadi Party said on Monday that a 'grace period' that had been given for the three MLAs to have a 'change of heart' was now over. It said that the grace period remained in place for the other legislators on account of their 'good conduct'.
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Samajwadi Party expels 3 MLAs over a year after ‘cross-voting' in Rajya Sabha polls
More than a year after several Samajwadi Party MLAs allegedly cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections, the party on Sunday expelled three of them — Abhay Singh (Gosaiganj, Ayodhya), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj, Amethi), and Manoj Kumar Pandey (Unchahar, Rae Bareli), a former Chief Whip in the Assembly — for 'supporting a divisive and communal' ideology, which the party said was contrary to its 'harmonious socialist ideology'. The SP in a statement said the three had been given a 'grace period' in the hope that they would have a 'change of heart', which, it said, has ended. In Uttar Pradesh's Rajya Sabha polls held in February last year, seven SP MLAs voted in favour of BJP and NDA-backed candidates, and many of them had since been seen attending BJP events and meeting senior party leaders. On Sunday, while taking action against three, the SP warned the remaining four, stating that no action had been taken against them yet 'because of their good conduct'. 'Samajwadi Party, in the public interest, expels the… MLAs due to their communal, divisive, negative ideology and supporting anti-farmer, anti-women, anti-youth, anti-business, anti-working professionals as well as 'anti-PDA' ideology, as opposed to the politics of harmonious, positive, socialist ideology,' the party said in its statement. It further warned that there would be 'no place for 'jan virodhi' (anti-people) leaders' in the future, and that any 'activities against the basic ideology of the party' would be treated as 'unpardonable'. According to sources, last month, Abhay Singh, Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Vinod Chaturvedi had also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, along with BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Seth. Among those expelled, Manoj Kumar Pandey (57) is a three-time MLA from Unchahar and was once considered close to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. He had also served as a cabinet minister during the previous SP government in the state. He was removed as Chief Whip in the Assembly after the Rajya Sabha cross-voting incident, and has since reportedly been supporting the BJP, including during the last Lok Sabha elections. Abhay Singh (50), a second-term MLA from Gosaiganj in Ayodhya, is known as a muscleman-turned-politician and is considered close to another strongman and former minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, who now heads the Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik). Rakesh Pratap Singh (48) is a three-time MLA from Gauriganj in Amethi. He too had rebelled during the Rajya Sabha polls and has since publicly backed the BJP.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
As SP expels 3 MLAs, what lies beneath: A chief whip who turned, an RS upset by BJP
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday expelled three of its MLAs for allegedly endorsing 'communal, divisive, and negative ideologies' that go against the party's principles. Those expelled from the party are Abhay Singh (MLA from Gosainganj), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj) and former chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey (Unchahar), the SP said in an official statement shared on its social media handles. These three MLAs were among seven from the party who had cross-voted in Uttar Pradesh's Rajya Sabha polls in February 2024, causing one of the three candidates put up by the SP to lose. While the BJP had been expected to win seven seats as per its numbers in the UP Assembly, the SP should have got three. However, the BJP put up a surprise eighth candidate, forcing a contest. In the end, while all eight candidates of the BJP won, only two of the SP pulled through, with retired bureaucrat and former UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan losing. All nine MLAs of BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) had voted in favour of the BJP''s eighth candidate, Sanjay Seth. The lone BSP MLA, Uma Shankar Singh, also voted for Seth. As the numbers in the House swayed, the BJP had brought in one of its ailing MLAs, Neel Ratan Patel, in an ambulance to vote. The signs as to how the day would proceed came early on, when SP chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey resigned just before going in to vote. A close aide of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Pandey had been picked ahead of senior leaders for the post. Then, SP MLAs Rakesh Pratap Singh and Abhay Singh, whose influence extends to the parliamentary constituencies of Amethi and Raebareli, declared that they would go with their 'antaratma ki awaaz (inner voice)' in voting, and that 'Lord Ram' was in their 'heart'. Four other SP MLAs gave a hint of their voting preference, arriving at the Assembly premises along with the BJP candidates, Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak and BJP state president Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, like their fellow 'rebels'. A clearly upset Akhilesh accused the BJP of 'luring' MLAs and of not stopping at anything to win. 'The BJP can try any trick to win elections, offer any kind of assurances,' the SP chief said, before going to cast his vote. While he did not know about the 'inner voice' of any one, he knew what was being offered, he added. 'Someone wants security, someone may have been threatened. We are hearing talk of 'packages' offered… Those who have gone, they did not have the courage to stand up to the government,' Akhilesh said, promising action against those who cross-voted at the time. Within hours, the name plate identifying Manoj Pandey as SP's chief whip had been removed from the party's office on the Vidhan Sabha premises. A three-time MLA from Unchahar Assembly constituency of Raebareli, he won the past two times defeating BJP candidates in direct fights. The 57-year-old was seen as the SP's Brahmin face. Rakesh Pratap, the SP MLA from Gauriganj, which falls under the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, had told reporters: 'I must vote as per my conscience.' On a question about the Ram Temple and whether that was a factor, he said: 'Ram kan-kan mein hain (Lord Ram is everywhere).' Later, after the voting was complete, Rakesh Pratap had criticised the SP's functioning, claiming that instead of long-time workers, outsiders were being rewarded. He said its candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls time as well as earlier showed this clearly, hinting at both actor-politician Jaya Bachchan (who won) and Alok Ranjan (who lost). A three-term MLA, the 48-year-old Rakesh Pratap was seen as close to Akhilesh. Party sources said that he had, however, been sulking for some time, especially after Swami Prasad Maurya joined the SP from the BSP. He publicly criticised Maurya last year for speaking against 'Sanatan Dharma'. Ironically, Maurya too has left the SP now. Abhay Singh, the SP MLA from Goshaiganj in Ayodhya parliamentary seat, also invoked Ram. 'Bhagwan Ram hamare aaradhya hain, hum to unhi ke kul khandan ke hain (Ram is our Lord, we are from his own family).' A two-term MLA, the 49-year-old Abhay Singh is seen as a bahubali and was once close to muscleman-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. Some SP leaders had expressed apprehensions about him as he had close ties with Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, who is believed to have convinced Abhay to vote for the BJP. Raja Bhaiya earlier offered the BJP his support. The other SP leaders who were believed to have cross-voted include Vinod Chaturvedi, the MLA from Kalpi in Bundelkhand; Rakesh Pandey, the MLA from Ambedkarnagar and the father of BSP MP Ritesh Pandey, who just joined the BJP; Pooja Pal, the MLA from Chail and the wife of slain gangster-politician Raju Pal. The seventh SP MLA who is said to have voted for the BJP is Jatav leader Ashutosh Maurya, a three-time MLA from Bisauli reserved seat in Badaun. The SP's winning candidates included actor-politician Jaya Bachchan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman. The BJP's new Rajya Sabha members from UP included R P N Singh (ex-Congress Union minister); Amarpal Maurya (general secretary of BJP); Sangeeta Balwant (former minister); Sudhanshu Trivedi (spokesperson); Sadhna Singh (ex-MLA); Naveen Jain (former Agra mayor); Chaudhary Tejveer Singh (former MP) and Sanjay Seth (businessman-turned-politician and the surprise 8th candidate by the BJP).
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Samajwadi Party expels three MLAs for anti-party activities, deviating from core principles
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday (June 23, 2025) expelled three of its MLAs for deviating from core party values and allegedly endorsing communal, divisive, and negative ideologies. The SP accused the three MLAs Abhay Singh (MLA from Gosainganj), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj) and Manoj Kumar Pandey (Unchahar) of working against public interest. The SP expelled Abhay Singh (MLA from Gosainganj), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj) and Manoj Kumar Pandey (Unchahar), for endorsing communal, divisive, and negative ideologies that go against the Samajwadi Party's inclusive and progressive principles. In its statement the SP blamed the leaders for actively supporting and helping political elements and ideas that are anti-women, anti-farmer, anti-youth, anti-business, anti-backward, anti-Dalit and against the rights of the marginalised. The SP statement added the three leaders were earlier given a 'grace period' for self-correction, but that time had now lapsed. It added that there is no room in the party for individuals acting against public welfare or its core ideological framework.
