Ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav today held a meeting with party MLAs and discussed the election strategy with them.
"We know how to contest polls. Our candidate is winning and we are also going to ensure victory of the other (BSP) candidate," senior SP leader and MLA Parasnath Yadav told reporters.
Samajwadi Party has 47 MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, of whom Nitin Agarwal is expected to vote for the BJP. Nitin Agrawal is the son of Naresh Agrawal, who recently quit Samajwadi Party and joined the BJP.
Apart from Nitin Agrawal, another SP MLA missing from today's meeting was Shivpal Yadav. Sources close to Shivpal Yadav, however, said he was in Etawah and will attend the dinner hosted by the party this evening.
Senior party leader Azam Khan, his son Abdullah Azam, Hariom (lodged in jail) were also absent from the meeting.
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Party leaders, however, asserted that they were firmly within the Samajwadi Party fold and expressed confidence that their candidates would emerge victorious in the Rajya Sabha polls.
At today’s meeting, Akhilesh also attacked the BJP. He said that the BJP should not have fielded nine candidates if it "cared for democratic values".
"If the BJP had any morality and cared for democratic values, it would not have fielded the ninth candidate. It seems the BJP does not mind malpractices and is functioning in an autocratic manner," he said.
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The BJP which can easily win eight seats of the ten seats in the upcoming polls to the Upper House, has fielded Anil Kumar Agarwal, a businessman, as its extra candidate, and forced a contest. However, SP leaders expressed confidence they would emerge victorious.
Watch video: Akhilesh Yadav meets Samajwadi Party MLAs
