The Samajwadi Party on Sunday appointed Mata Prasad Pandey, the SP MLA from Itwa, as the leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
The SP also appointed Kanth MLA Kamaal Akhtar as chief whip, Raniganj MLA Rakesh Kumar alias R K Verma as deputy whip and Atraulia MLA Sangram Singh Yadav as whip in the assembly, a party statement said.
SP made the announcement after a decision was taken during a party meeting of the MLAs at the party headquarters in Lucknow. The SP MLAs had authorised Akhilesh Yadav to choose the LoP.
In a statement, SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, Akhilesh Yadav appointed Mata Prasad Pandey as leader of opposition in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Indrajit Saroj as deputy leader.
A five-time MLA, Saroj currently represents Kaushambi district's Manjhanpur constituency in the assembly.
"Hearty congratulations and best wishes to senior Samajwadi (Party) leader Shri Mata Prasad Pandey ji on being elected as the leader of opposition in the UP Legislative Assembly!" Akhilesh Yadav said in a post on X in Hindi.
He said Pandey's rich experience will benefit all SP MLAs, assembly speaker, chief minister and all his ministers and MLAs.
All About Mata Prasad Pandey
81-year-old Mata Prasad Pandey has been a veteran leader of the party and is a seven-time MLA, who has also served as the assembly speaker for two terms -- 2004-2007 and 2012-2017. He will replace SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who resigned as MLA from Karhal seat after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj.
He was first elected as MLA in 1980 and then in 1985 and 1989. He served as state health minister between 1990 and 1991 in the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's government. He was the labour and employment minister in Mulayam Singh Yadav's government between 2002 and 2004.