Akhilesh Yadav terms third seat as loyalty test, betrayed during Rajya Sabha polls

Seven MLAs from Samajwadi Party (SP) cross-voted for BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, leading to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav claiming it as a 'loyalty test' to identify rebels. 

The MLAs who cross-voted were Rakesh Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh, Vinod Chaturvedi, Manoj Pandey, Ashutosh Maurya, and Pooja Pal. SP MLA from Unchahar, Manoj Pandey, resigned as the party's chief whip, further complicating matters for Akhilesh Yadav, India Today quoted sources as saying. 

"Our third seat (bid) in the Rajya Sabha was actually a test to identify the true companions and to know who was with the PDA at heart and who was against the backward classes, Dalits and minorities by conscience," Akhilesh Yadav wrote in Hindi on X.

"Now everything is clear, the third seat is our victory," he added.
This followed a meeting called by Yadav, which eight party MLAs including Pandey did not attend. The elections for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh saw eight BJP candidates and three from SP in the running. 
Notably, 10 MLAs from SP are reportedly in contact with BJP for an eighth Rajya Sabha seat and may cross-vote for the party. The BJP and SP are the two largest parties in the 403-member state assembly with 252 and 108 MLAs, respectively. 

The candidates fielded by BJP include former Union minister RPN Singh and former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, while SP has fielded actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman. 
A candidate needs nearly 37 first-preference votes to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

Other allies include Apna Dal (Sonelal) with 13 seats, NISHAD Party with six seats, RLD with nine seats, SBSP with six seats, Jansatta Dal Loktantrik with two seats, and the BSP with one seat. Currently, four seats remain vacant.