Samajwadi Party Chief Whip Quits Amidst Growing Fears Of Cross-Voting In Rajya Sabha Polls

Samajwadi Party MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey resigned from the Chief Whip post on Tuesday amid the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections in 10 seats. An MLA from Unchahar, Manoj Kumar Pandey’s resignation comes hours after 8 other MLAs skipped a dinner hosted by party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Cross-voting in Uttar Pradesh

Talks of cross-voting are abuzz in the political landscape of Uttar Pradesh. BJP ally OP Rajbhar on Tuesday confirmed that there will be cross-voting from SP legislators in favour of the BJP. "The 8 candidates from the BJP are going to win. Raja Bhaiya and all our allies are in support of the BJP. Samajwadi Party leaders are openly agreeing to vote for BJP. There will be cross-voting from the Samajwadi Party. They will support the NDA, 100% there will be cross-voting," said Rajbhar.

Akhilesh Yadav, however, was displeased with such developments. “Not everybody has the guts to stand against the Government...pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn't know that BJP would go to any extent to win,” said Yadav. Speaking on the legislators who might cross-vote, Yadav added, “When it comes to UP, BJP did everything to get votes and those who left, might not have had the guts to stand against the government. Action will be taken because our party leaders want such people to be kept away from the party."

Meanwhile, according to reports, a rift has started to emerge between the SP and its ally Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), who is also part of the INDIA alliance.

11 candidates in total are in line for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. 8 candidates are from the ruling BJP, while the remaining 3 are from the Samajwadi Party. A candidate would need to secure approximately 37 first-preference votes to secure a seat. Across the country, Rajya Sabha elections are being held for a total of 15 seats across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. Voting commenced at 9 am and will be counted at 5 pm.

Cross-voting is when legislators of one party vote for candidates of another party. A Chief Whip ensures that every legislator belonging to the party attends and votes in legislature as per the preference of the party leadership, and not as per their personal preference which may or may not differ with the party leadership.