Three Former Samajwadi Party MLAs Join BJP

Three former Samajwadi Party legislators joined the Bharatiya Janata Party at an event in Gauriganj, Amethi, on October 14, 2026, more than a year after the Samajwadi Party expelled them for voting with the BJP in the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections. The legislators are Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh and Vinod Chaturvedi. The induction took place in the presence of Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary and BJP national general secretary Smriti Irani. The three remain sitting MLAs, representing Gauriganj, Gosaiganj and Kalpi, respectively. The Samajwadi Party expelled the legislators in June 2025, according to reports, after they cross-voted for BJP candidates in the Rajya Sabha contest. Their move brings three representatives who had been elected on Samajwadi Party tickets into the BJP ahead of Uttar Pradesh’s 2027 Assembly election. Chaturvedi said development under the governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath influenced his decision, particularly in Bundelkhand. He also referred to his religious beliefs and said he had been dissatisfied over the handling of a visit to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.