Parties manage big political switches ahead of UP polls

Barabanki/Rampur/Allahabad, Jan 4 (ANI): Political parties in Uttar Pradesh shaped their responses to various leaders who came knocking on their doors in the run up to Assembly elections in the state.

Samajwadi Party's state unit president Akhilesh Yadav said that the party would not accept in its fold ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator D P Yadav, who sought to switch sides after the BSP denied him a ticket.

"As far as the name you have taken (D P Yadav) is concerned, the Samajwadi party is not taking him in. If you know otherwise, then you can tell me," Akhilesh told reporters here.

He refuted reports that senior party leader Azam Khan wanted D P Yadav in, saying that a recent meeting between the two was a formal, non-committal affair.

"That is not true. You have received incorrect information. If some one comes to meet you at a gathering, what else can you do (but meet the person)?," he said.

SP leader Azam Khan also denied favouring D P Yadav, saying that while the legislator, who is an accused in multiple criminal cases including murder, had expressed a desire to join the party, the SP leadership had the final authority over the matter.

"He (D P Yadav) expressed his desire to join, saying that he was unhappy with the policies of the Bahujan Samaj Party and that injustice had been meted out to him. He wanted to come to the Samajwadi Party because he had earlier been a member. Obviously, if someone wants to join the party and the leadership agrees, what objection can I have? He left after that. If Akhilesh Yadav says that he will not be take in, he is within his rights to do so," Khan told reportersin Rampur.

The Samajwadi Party currently holds 97 legislative seats in the state.

The Congress party, at present a minor force in the incumbent 403 member assembly with only 22 seats, trained its guns on the ruling BSP and the 51-strong Bharatiya Janata party, saying that the BSP and the BJP kept doors open for tainted candidates from either side.

"The Congress will not take tainted leaders into its fold. We have declared most of our ticket holders. Those that remain will be declared soon. But it has become clear that the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have a common door, which they open from time to time for each other," said Congress' state unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

Uttar Pradesh is politically important, as it sends a large number of lawmakers to the Parliament in New Delhi. Voting in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 4 and finishing on February 28.

Four other states, including Punjab, will hold elections between January 28 and March 03. The results of the election would be declared on March 4. (ANI)