Samajwadi Party MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the position of party chief whip, following his absence from a crucial meeting called by party chief Akhilesh Yadav regarding the Rajya Sabha elections. Pandey, who represents the Unchahar constituency in Raebareli, refused to directly address allegations of horse-trading and said, "The people have given me a chance to vote many times... If one is in politics, one has to bear all kinds of blame. I have been nominated for the people, and I will think only about my people."






Samajwadi Party MLA Sangram Yadav responded to the resignation by saying, "I want to ask that those who won on Samajwadi Party symbol with votes of Dalits and backwards, where was their conscience? Today, they are talking about conscience but they backstabbed Dalits and backwards," as per news agency PTI.






The resignation comes amidst a dispute over the voting process in the Rajya Sabha elections for the 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh. Notably, eight BJP candidates and three from the Samajwadi Party are contesting in these elections.


In a letter addressed to Yadav, Pandey resigned stating, "You had appointed me as chief whip of Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh Assembly. I am resigning as the chief whip. Kindly accept my resignation."


Pandey's decision to resign follows his absence, along with seven other SP MLAs, from the meeting convened by Yadav. The meeting aimed to brief the MLAs about the voting process for the Rajya Sabha elections. The other absentees were identified as Mukesh Verma, Maharaji Prajapati, Pooja Pal, Rakesh Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Abhay Singh, news agency PTI reported.


Rajendra Chaudhary, SP's national spokesperson, acknowledged the absence of eight MLAs from the meeting, although he refrained from disclosing their names. The absence of Pandey and the other MLAs has sparked speculations and discussions within the party ranks regarding their alignment and support.


On some MLAs skipping his Monday evening meeting, SP President Akhilesh Yadav said, "Those who wanted to profit from the situation will go. Those who were given assurances (by the BJP) will go", as quoted by PTI.


"Our third seat in the Rajya Sabha (polls) was actually a test to identify the true friends and to know who was with the PDA at heart and who was against the backward classes, Dalits and minorities by their 'antaratma' (conscience). Now everything is clear, this is the victory of the third seat," Yadav said in a post on X.






BJP's RP Singh On Cross-Voting In Rajya Sabha Election


RP Singh, the national spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),  alleged that Akhilesh Yadav prevented his legislators from visiting the Ram Temple, leading to dissent among them. He stated, "Akhilesh Yadav did not allow his legislators to visit the Ram Temple, which caused them to turn against him by chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'."


Commenting on the political scenario in Himachal Pradesh, Singh indicated signs of fragmentation within the Congress party. He remarked, "The images and information emerging from Himachal Pradesh indicate a split within the Congress Party."


Singh further predicted significant ruptures not only within the Congress in Himachal Pradesh but also in other states in the days to come.


Regarding the Congress's internal affairs in Himachal Pradesh, Singh mentioned an incident involving one of its leaders, Pratibha Singh, who was allegedly prohibited from visiting the Ram Temple. Despite this, she eventually visited the temple, which Singh suggested could lead to rebellion within the party.


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