BSP’S SUSPENDED MLAS MAY JOIN SP

Six suspended Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lawmakers on Tuesday met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, who later said the rebel legislators will join his party ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh scheduled early next year.

Yadav acknowledged that a meeting did take place but did not elaborate on what transpired in it and how many rebels met him. He also ruled out any alliances with Congress or BSP in the assembly polls.

BSP had 18 MLAs in the UP assembly, but 11 of them were either suspended or expelled.

“They (BSP rebels) will join the Samajwadi Party in the times to come,” Yadav told a TV news channel. The SP chief said many senior leaders of different parties met him while others were in touch with other SP leaders.

SP leaders said at least six suspended BSP legislators, including Bhinga MLA Mohd Aslam Raini and Mungra Badshahpur MLA Sushma Patel, met Yadav at the party headquarters in Lucknow.

Some of the rebel lawmakers said they were looking to form a separate party that could ally with the SP, which currently has 48 MLAs in the 403-member assembly. “As of now, if we go to any party or take the membership of any political party, our membership of the UP legislative assembly will cease to exist under the anti defection law,” Raina said.