Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav during his 'Vijay Rath Yatra' ahead of 2022 UP assembly elections, in Lucknow. (PTI) A day after two former UP ministers and five BJP MLAs shared stage with him, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said his party would not induct any more legislators or ministers from the saffron party.
“I would tell the BJP that I am no longer going to take BJP MLAs or ministers (into SP), you can cut their tickets,” he told mediapersons at the SP headquarters here. Without revealing the name, he, however, said another BJP leader would soon switch to the SP.
On former UP minister Dara Singh Chauhan, who had left the BJP on Thursday, Akhilesh said he and a few others would be inducted into the party on Sunday.
Former UP cabinet minister and prominent OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday joined the SP along with another rebel minister Dharam Singh Saini. Five BJP MLAs and Apna Dal (Sonelal) legislator Amar Singh Chaudhary also joined the SP in the presence of Akhilesh.
Reacting to Yogi Adityanath’s candidature from Gorakhpur, Akhilesh said the BJP had already sent the chief minister to his home. “He is not even member of the BJP and has been sent to his home by his party. There was the talk of him contesting from Mathura, Ayodhya or Prayagraj before the BJP sent him back to his home, Gorakhpur,” he added. The SP chief, however, evaded the question if the party would field any candidate against Adityanath.
On Congress’s decision to give 40 per cent of its tickets to women, Akhilesh said the SP would choose its women candidates on their winnability.
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