Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Oct 14: Three Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs who had earlier rebelled against the party formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The MLAs are Rakesh Pratap Singh of Gauriganj in Amethi, Abhay Singh of Gosaiganj in Ayodhya and Vinod Chaturvedi of Kalpi in Jalaun. Their induction into the BJP marks a significant political development in the state ahead of the Assembly polls.

Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary and the party's national general secretary Smriti Irani inducted the three legislators at an event held in Amethi. They were welcomed into the party and presented with saffron stoles.

Cabinet minister Dara Singh Chauhan, National President of the BJP's Pichhda Varg Morcha Amarpal Maurya, and several senior party leaders, MLAs and office-bearers were also present.

After joining the BJP, Rakesh Pratap Singh thanked his supporters, saying that people in his constituency had backed him and urged him to join the saffron party. He claimed that his supporters had assured him of their continued support and that around 98 per cent of those active at the booth level in his constituency would leave the SP and join the BJP.

Singh also claimed that a large number of current and former public representatives would join the BJP along with him.

He had earlier indicated that around 700 gram pradhans, former village heads, Kshetra Panchayat members and former members, as well as Zila Panchayat members, would join the BJP. He subsequently claimed that around 1,000 current and former public representatives would come on board. However, the actual number of people joining the BJP in line with these claims has not been independently verified.

Singh, who represents Gauriganj, entered the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the first time on an SP ticket in 2012. He went on to win the constituency in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections as well.

Despite securing three consecutive victories, his differences with the SP leadership widened over the years. During the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections, he voted in favour of the BJP candidate, following which the SP expelled him from the party in June 2025.

Singh had also taken positions contrary to the party leadership during controversies surrounding the Ramcharitmanas and other issues. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he campaigned for BJP candidate Smriti Irani in Amethi. His formal entry into the BJP has now clarified his political alignment. Some members of his family had also joined the BJP earlier.

For the BJP, the immediate challenge will be to integrate the political influence of the three MLAs into the party organisation and ensure coordination with local workers.

Meanwhile, the SP faces the task of retaining its traditional supporters and strengthening its organisational presence in the constituencies represented by the three legislators.

The impact of their defection on the 2027 Assembly elections will depend on the extent to which their supporters follow them, the strength of the local party organisations and the political equations that emerge during the election campaign.