In a major boost for the Samajwadi Party (SP) ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, six suspended MLAs of BSP and one BJP legislator on Saturday joined the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.

The six suspended BSP MLAs – Hargovind Bhargav, Mujtaba Siddiqui, Hakim Lal Bind, Aslam Raini, Sushma Patel, and Aslam Chaudhary, and BJP MLA from Sitapur Sadar Rakesh Rathore today joined the SP in presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Hitting out at the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government in the state, Akhilesh said more people want to join the SP as they’re fed up with the BJP. Expressing confidence over his party’s victory in the upcoming polls, the SP chief asserted that the BJP will be wiped out in the next elections.

“Many people want to join SP. When the time will come you will see it. People are so unhappy with BJP that they’ll be wiped out in the next polls. After MLA Rakesh Rathore’s joining, CM might change his slogan from ‘mera parivar BJP parivar’ to ‘mera parivar bhagta parivar’,” ANI quoted Yadav as saying.

The elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh in the month of February to March 2022 to elect 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The term of the current assembly elected in 2017 will expire on May 14,  2022.

Rajbhar-led SBSP allies with SP for UP polls

Earlier on Wednesday, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar announced his party’s alliance with the Samajwadi Party and claimed that Akhilesh Yadav would be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Rajbhar was earlier a part of the Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha (BSM), an alliance of nine smaller political parties including Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM.