Sukhram Singh Yadav met Yogi Adityanath at his residence.
The Samajwadi Party's Rajya Sabha member Sukhram Singh Yadav has met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here, triggering speculations he might switch over to the BJP.
During the meeting at chief minister's residence here on Thursday, Mr Yadav was accompanied by his family including son Mohit, who had recently joined the BJP.
On being asked about the purpose of the meeting, the MP told PTI Friday that since he could not meet Yogi Adityanath after his swearing-in ceremony in March, he had gone to congratulate him now.
But, political circles here are agog with speculations that the senior SP leader, who has some differences with party president Akhilesh Yadav, was preparing to crossover to the BJP.
Mr Yadav, however, dismissed such talks. "I don't see any strength in these speculations." The meeting assumes significance also because Mr Yadav's Rajya Sabha term is going to end soon and he might be hoping to get another stint through the saffron party. Mr Yadav trashed these suggestions too. "The meeting with the Uttar Pradesh chief minister was good," he said. "Since, I could not meet the Chief Minister after the elections and the oath-taking ceremony, I met him yesterday (Thursday), and congratulated him." The 70-year-old Mr Yadav had served as the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from 2004-10. He became a Rajya Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party on July 5, 2016.
"I have already said earlier that there are a few differences between me and the party leadership," Mr Yadav asserted.
"The difference is that it was said by Akhilesh (Yadav) ji during the party feud (in 2016) that netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) will be made the national president of the party after the 2017 elections," he said.
"However, many elections have passed, but no action has been taken in this regard. I only want that the respect for Netaji should remain intact," Mr Yadav asserted. After the Samajwadi Party's loss to the BJP in the recently concluded state polls, some SP leaders have raised voices against the party chief, and Sukhram Yadav's meeting with Yogi Adityanath could signal fresh troubles from him.
Senior socialist leader Shivpal Yadav has already indicated his growing distance with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav after the declaration of assembly polls results.
A spokesman for the seniormost SP MLA Azam Khan, the party's Muslim face, has gone public venting ire against Akhilesh Yadav for not making Mr Khan the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly and also not visiting him at Sitapur jail where the Rampur Sadar legislator is lodged for the last two years.
Mr Khan contested the Rampur seat in the 2022 assembly polls and won for a tenth time. He had served as a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet between 2012 and 2017.
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