Rajya Sabha Elections 2024: At least seven Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs skipped a crucial party meeting on the eve of the Rajya Sabha elections.
According to reports, SP MLAs -- Rakesh Pandey father of Ritesh Pandey who recently switched to BJP from BSP, Abhay Singh, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Manoj Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, Maharaji Prajapati and Pooja Pal -- did not attend the meeting.
When the party contacted them, some of the MLAs said that they will be joining the meeting a bit late, however, none of them showed up.
The development has fueled speculations that some SP leaders may support BJP in Tuesday's Rajya Sabha elections.
Earlier today, Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) chief Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya announced his support for the BJP.
Raja Bhaiya also attended a dinner hosted by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the latter held a meeting of BJP MLAs in Lucknow.
Rajya Sabha elections on February 27
The February 27 Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh will witness a high-pitched electoral battle ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the BJP fielding eight candidates and the opposition Samajwadi Party three for the 10 seats up for grab.
The outcome of the polls to the Rajya Sabha is likely to have an impact in the politically crucial state just ahead of the general elections in the country.
The ruling BJP and the principal opposition SP have the numbers to send seven and three members respectively unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, but with the BJP fielding Sanjay Seth as its eighth candidate, a keen contest is on the cards in one of the seats.
Seth, a local industrialist and former SP leader, joined the BJP in 2019. He filed his nomination in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and other senior party leaders.
Voting for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on Tuesday and the results will also be announced the same day.
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