Cross-voting MLAs ‘will have to go’, says Samajwadi chief Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav warned his MLAs that any cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections held will draw action

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on February 27 warned his MLAs that any cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections held will draw action. There was talk of cross-voting among Samajwadi Party MLAs after the party chief whip quit while polling was underway for the elections.

Rajya Sabha Election updates February 27, 2024

The SP's chief whip in state Assembly Manoj Pandey quit the party, with the jolt coming a day after he and seven other MLAs skipped a meeting called by Mr. Yadav, raising concerns about cross-voting by some SP legislators during the voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats from the State.

"Those who wanted to profit from the situation will go. Those who were given assurances [by the BJP] will go," Mr. Yadav told reporters at the Assembly before casting his vote.

Action will be taken against such MLAs, he said. "The BJP can adopt all the tricks in the book to win elections. It must have given assurance [to some MLAs] of some profit... BJP will do anything to win," he added.

"Those who don't have the courage to fight will go. Some might have been worried about their security, some might have been threatened or promised something," the SP president said.

The BJP fielded eight candidates, as the opposition SP fielded three for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats for which voting was held on Tuesday.