Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh Yadav Concedes Defeat On Third Rajya Sabha Seat As Many Samajwadi Party MLAs Cross-Vote For BJP

For the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh on 10 seats, the BJP had nominated eight candidates, while the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party had three candidates, making it a battle for one seat.

However, in a post on X, Yadav conceded defeat on the third Rajya Sabha seat as he wrote, "Our third seat in the Rajya Sabha was actually a test to identify the true comrades and to know who was with the PDA at heart."

PDA is Yadav's campaign to include Pichhde (Backwards), Dalits, tribals and minorities (Adivasi and Alpasankhyak) in his voter base. He added, "Now everything is clear, this is the victory of the third seat."

The key is the number of first-preference votes a candidate receives, with 37 being the crucial number. The BJP reportedly has extra votes from Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Raghuraj Pratap Singh, aka Raja Bhaiya's Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik), which has two MLAs and one MLC is also reportedly supporting. BJP's allies - Om Prakash Rajbhar's SBSP, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party are also with it.

BJP leaders claim that around 10 MLAs from SP were also in communication with it.

Amid rumours of cross-voting, Yadav earlier said, Not everybody has the guts to stand against the Government. Pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn't know that the BJP would go to any extent to win."

"In 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," he added.