Samajwadi Party focuses on Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, not Rajya Sabha polls

Synopsis

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav indicated his party's attention is on the upcoming Assembly elections instead of the Rajya Sabha polls. He mentioned that the focus is on securing all 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. The party has already nominated two candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani. The BJP has named eight candidates for the same polls, including various representatives.

Lucknow, Amid speculation on his party fielding a third candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said his party's focus is not on three seats but on the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav had earlier stated that his party would field a third candidate once the required numbers are secured

However, in a post on X this morning, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, "Now, our focus is not on three, but on 403".

Also read: UP elections: Akhilesh Yadav in talks with many BJP MLAs, working to accommodate them

Today is the last date for filing nominations for the Rajya Sabha polls, followed by scrutiny of papers on October 7. Names can be withdrawn till October 9, while polling will be conducted on October 16.

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The SP has already fielded veteran party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and Reliance Industries executive Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani, who have filed their nominations in Lucknow.

The BJP has announced eight candidates, including Dalits and Brahmins. They comprise state minister Dharampal Singh, Shruti Gangwar Prakash Pal, Vidya Sagar Sonkar, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Radhakant Ojha and Gopi Krishna Pandey and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan.

The Rajya Sabha polls are based on proportional representation and single transferable vote, which ensures that surplus votes of the winners are transferred to the remaining candidates as per their second preferences.

So, if a contest happens with more than 10 candidates in the fray, it will boil down to technicalities and astute planning, party leaders on both sides said.

Following the recent death of Fatehabad BJP MLA Chhotelal Verma, the BJP-led alliance now has 288 MLAs in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

Also read: BJP names 8 new Rajya Sabha candidates from UP, leaves out Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma

This includes 255 BJP MLAs, 13 MLAs from Apna Dal (Sonelal), nine from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, six from the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, and five from the NISHAD Party.

The SP-Congress combine has 103 MLAs, including 101 from the SP.The Jansatta Dal Loktantrik has two MLAs, while there are three unattached legislators.