Samajwadi Party Chief Whip Manoj Panday resigns, fears of cross voting in RS polls loom

Manoj Kumar Panday/ X

Amid speculation of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election, Samajwadi Party MLA and leader Manoj Kumar Panday resigned from the post of Samajwadi Party Chief Whip.

"I have requested the party chief to accept my resignation from the post of Chief Whip," said SP MLA Manoj Kumar Panday when he was going to meet Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh.

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After his meeting with the SP MLA the UP Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh said that the SP MLA was a supporter of Sanatan Dharma.

"Many public representatives are joining the BJP due to being influenced by PM Modi's policies and the development that is happening in the country. Manoj Panday ji has always been a supporter of Sanatan Dharma, he has been giving equal statements on this issue inside and outside the House. That's why he was unhappy there and when the proposal came for the darshan of Ram ji, he wanted everyone to go for darshan," Dayashankar Singh said

Earlier, another Samajwadi Party MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh indicated he would vote against the party saying that he is not angry with his party but will listen to the voice of his inner soul before casting his vote.

" I'm not angry with anyone, I will vote according to the voice of inner soul..." said Samajwadi Party MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath left the polling station in Lucknow after casting his vote for the Rajya Sabha elections. UP CM Yogi Adityanath was showing victory sign after casting his vote.

Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav also cast his vote for the election.

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar claimed that there will be cross-voting and eight candidates from the BJP will win eight seats in the Rajya Sabha election.

"The 8 candidates from the BJP are going to win. Raja Bhaiya and all our allies are in support of BJP. Samajwadi Party leaders are openly agreeing to vote for BJP. There will be cross-voting from the Samajwadi Party. They will support NDA, 100% there will be cross-voting.." said Om Prakash Rajbhar.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party Cheif Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday claimed that the SP expected to win three seats, where the party has put up candidates, in the Rajya Sabha election.

"We hope all three candidates of Samajwadi Party will win...BJP can use all the tactics to win elections. BJP will do everything possible for victory. Some of our leaders who want personal gains can go to the BJP..." said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

"Our MLAs who are in contact with the Bharatiya Janata Party and those who want to take advantage of it will go with the Bharatiya Janata Party. They are being lured by the Bharatiya Janata Party camp," added SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has put up eight Rajya Sabha candidates and the Samajwadi Party 3 for the 10 seats at stake. As per the numbers in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP is guaranteed to win 7 seats while the SP should win 3 seats. However, there are reports that several MLAs could cross-vote.

On Monday, some legislators of the SP went missing from a dinner hosted by SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav. Reports suggest at least 8 MLAs were missing from the dinner and now the fear is these legislators could abstain from the vote or corss vote, either of which will result in BJP winning its eighth seat in the state.

The BJP, however, is confident in getting the numbers to win all the eights seats where they have put up candidates.

UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak said, " MLAs support and blessings are with BJP's candidates. The results will be in favour of BJP...all candidates of BJP will win"

The seven 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 (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain.

But with the BJP fielding Sanjay Seth as its eighth candidate, a keen contest is on the cards in one of the seats.

The SP has fielded actor MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and Ramji Lal Suman.

To get elected to the Rajya Sabha from UP, a candidate needs nearly 37 first preference votes. Voting for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on Tuesday and the results will be announced the same day.

While the NDA and SP-Congress were negotiating with other parties on Monday in an attempt to gather the necessary support for their candidates, the BJP gained momentum when Raja Bhaiyya's Jansatta Dal-Loktantrik promised to extend the support of its two MLAs to the party.

Following his grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh being honoured with the Bharat Ratna earlier this month, Jayant Chaudhary had already declared RLD's support for the BJP. RLD's nine MLAs met with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and attended a strategy session at Lok Bhawan with NDA partners.

The term for Rajya Sabha MPs is six years, and elections are held after every two years for 33 per cent of the seats. Currently, the Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245 members.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the country, the outcome of the polls to the Rajya Sabha is likely to have an impact in the politically crucial state.

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