UP Polls: BSP national general secretary meets Akhilesh Yadav, triggers defection rumours

In the latest churn in Uttar Pradesh politics, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) National General Secretary RS Kushwaha met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday. The meeting between the two leaders had fueled defection rumours ahead of UP Polls 2022 even as the BSP leader dubs it as a 'courtesy call.' Samajwadi Party shared a photo of the meeting between the two saying, "Former State President of Bahujan Samaj Party, Shri R.S. Kushwaha ji made a courtesy call on the honourable National President Akhilesh Yadav ji." 

Speaking to news agency PTI, Kushwaha said, "Yes, I met Akhileshji. It was a courtesy meeting." The leader refrained from elaborating on the talks held between the two leaders.

It's interesting to note that when the BSP had stiched the 'Mahagatbandhan alliance' with the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2018 UP polls, RS Kushwaha was the BSP's Uttar Pradesh unit president. The leader has also contested against Congress President Sonia Gandhi from the Rae Bareli constituency in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, holding talks with Mahan Dal, NCP.

UP Polls 2022

Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will be scheduled for early next year during February-March to elect 403 members of the UP Legislative Assembly. The term of the current assembly elected in 2017 will expire on March 14, 2022.

Ruling party BJP is said to sound the poll bugle for Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections after Dussehra, sources told Republic Media Network. The party will retain incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath as the CM-face for the upcoming polls. Meanwhile, Congress has announced that it will fight polls under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state. 

In the run-up to the elections, PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to make back to back visits to the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh to undertake election campaigning and rallies. According to sources, PM Modi is said to address more than 24 rallies, while Amit Shah will address more than 48 rallies for the upcoming elections.

(With Agency Inputs)