Samajwadi Party’s Chief Whip Quits Amid Voting for Rajya Sabha Polls in UP

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief whip in the UP Assembly, Manoj Pandey resigned from his post on Tuesday, while the voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats continues in Uttar Pradesh. Manoj Pandey represents the Unchahar assembly seat in Raebareli district.

Manoj Pandey’s resignation is a shock for SP president Akhilesh Yadav. On Monday, eight SP MLAs did not attend a dinner-cum-meeting called by Akhilesh Yadav.

This is a worry for the SP chief as it is rumoured that there will be cross-voting in the election to the Rajya Sabha, which will add to problems of the party ahead of the general elections. The SP will be contesting 63 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the INDIA alliance.

On Monday, Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that the BJP is putting pressure on his party’s MLAs.