Rajya Sabha Elections 2018: BJP MLAs Will Cross-Vote in Our Favour, Says Samajwadi Party Leader Ram Gopal Yadav

The SP has 47 MLAs in the state Assembly and a candidate requires 37 votes to make it to Rajya Sabha. So the party is assured of a seat with ten votes to spare which it would give to BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

Lucknow, Mar 23: “There will be no cross-voting but BJP MLAs will cross-vote for us,” said senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav in Lucknow on Friday. He was responding to a query over the possibility of cross-voting during the ongoing Rajya Sabha elections. Yadav was obviously buoyed by his party’s performance in the recently held bypolls in Phulpur and Gorakhpur, where SP wrested both the seats from the ruling BJP.

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The SP has 47 MLAs in the state Assembly and a candidate requires 37 votes to make it to Rajya Sabha. So the party is assured of a seat with ten votes to spare which it would give to BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar. A couple of days ago, BSP chief Mayawati had demanded from SP national president Akhilesh Yadav, names of ten MLAs who would vote for Ambedkar. Nitin Agarwal, son of turncoat Naresh Agarwal, who joined BJP because SP nominated Jaya Bachchan to RS, is still with the SP but is likely to cross-vote.There is also speculation over who MLA Shivpal Yadav and his supporters would vote for. If SP puts away ten votes for the BSP, in case of any cross-voting, the candidature of Jaya Bachchan would also be at risk.

There will be no cross-voting, but yes BJP MLAs will cross-vote in our favour: Ram Gopal Yadav, SP #RajyaSabhaElections pic.twitter.com/ArFOIH26XE

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2018

Party MLA Hari Om Yadav has been barred from voting by the Allahabad High Court along with BSP’s Mukhtar Ansari.