Jolt to Akhilesh: As 3 more SP MLCs set to join BJP

Lucknow: Three more Samajwadi Party (SP) members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council are likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon.

These three MLCs -- Ramesh Misra, Ravi Shankar Singh Pappu and C. P. Chand -- met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur on Wednesday and discussed the matter.

All three were elected from the local bodies and their term expires on March 7, 2022.

Ramesh Misra belongs to Hamirpur, Ravi Shankar Singh Pappu is from Ballia and C. P. Chand is from Maharajganj.

Ravi Shankar Singh Pappu is the grandson of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. His uncle, Neeraj Shekhar, has already resigned from SP and is in the BJP.

It is noteworthy that the BJP, at present, lacks a majority in the 100-member Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, where the Samajwadi Party has 55 members and the BJP only 21 and the BSP is left with 8 members.

The ruling party wants to firm up its strength in order to make the legislation process smooth.

A year ago, three SP MLCs -- Yeshwant Singh, Bhukkal Nawab and Sarojini Agarwal -- had quit the SP to join BJP. All three were again elected to the upper House, earlier this year.