Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav addresses a press conference, at the party office in Lucknow, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (PTI Photo/Nand Kumar)
Lucknow: Hinting of a possible patch-up with those who had left the party, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said that the Rajya Sabha elections is "the time for coming together" and "stand united with others on matters of principle".
His remark assume significance, as leaders of the Samajwadi Party have been saying that the party will field three candidates in the ongoing Rajya Sabha polls, thereby triggering the possibility of cross-voting.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, Yadav said, "The time of Rajya Sabha elections is the time for coming together ('milan kaa samay hotaa hai'). It is time to move ahead from the earlier mistakes and stand united with others on matters of principle."
He went on to add: "If someone believes that our democracy, Constitution, and economy are under attack, or considers the ethanol blending in petrol to be a wrong decision, then at 'milan kaa samay', we will put aside all past grievances and join hands with those friends who wish to collaborate with us. We will forget all those things."
Earlier in the day, SP MP Virendra Singh claimed several BJP MLAs wanted to contest the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh on SP tickets and were in touch with his party.
Singh also said the Samajwadi Party will field a third candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, setting the stage for a contest in the polls for 10 seats.
SP MLA from Lucknow Central Ravidas Mehrotra too had echoed similar views.
The SP had on September 30 nominated veteran party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and Reliance Industries executive Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani for the elections. Both subsequently filed their nomination papers in Lucknow.
Based on the current strength of the Uttar Pradesh assembly, the BJP-led alliance is in a position to win seven seats, while the SP, with support of Congress, can secure two, according to an analysis of the numbers.
A contest could arise if more candidates are fielded than the available seats, with cross-voting potentially becoming a factor.
According to the Election Commission schedule, October 6 is the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny will be held on October 7 and candidates can withdraw their nominations till October 9.
Polling will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on October 16, followed by counting of votes on the same day.
In the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections, all eight BJP candidates were elected from Uttar Pradesh, while the SP's two candidates Jaya Bachchan and Ramji Lal Suman won.
The SP had fielded former UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan as its third candidate, but he lost.
In that election, the BJP fielded an eighth candidate despite having the numbers to get seven elected unopposed, forcing a contest.
Following the recent death of BJP MLA from Agra's Fatehabad assembly constituency Chhotelal Verma, the BJP-led alliance has 288 MLAs in the 403-Uttar Pradesh assembly.
This includes 255 BJP MLAs, 13 MLAs from Apna Dal (Sonelal), 9 MLAs from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, 6 from the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party and 5 from NISHAD party.
The SP-Congress combine has about 103, which includes 101 SP MLAs.
Jansatta Dal Loktantrik has 2 MLAs, while there are 3 unattached MLAs including UP Cabinet minister Manoj Kumar Pandey.
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