Three Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators – Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh and Vinod Chaturvedi – have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today, marking a political development that has the spotlight fixed on shifting party loyalties in Uttar Pradesh.
The three MLAs had contested and won the 2022 Assembly polls on SP tickets. They, however, were in the eye of the storm in the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections for endorsing a BJP candidate.
Rakesh Pratap Singh represents Gauriganj in Amethi district, Abhay Singh is the MLA from Gosainganj in Ayodhya while Vinod Chaturvedi represents Kalpi in Jalaun district. All of them have taken a new turn in their careers by switching over to the BJP.
Here is what you should know about the three legislators.
Rakesh Pratap Singh: Three-Time MLA From Gauriganj
Rakesh Pratap Singh has been representing the Gauriganj Assembly constituency in Amethi district for three terms. Winning the assembly seat thrice as an SP nominee, Singh was a Samajwadi Party candidate in the 2022 Assembly election as well.
In the 2022 poll, Singh beat BJP nominee Chandra Prakash Mishra Matiyari by 6,963 votes to win for the third term as MLA. His political differences with the SP came out in the open when he endorsed the BJP candidate in the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections.
Speaking about his decision to switch over to the BJP, Singh called October 14, an important and emotional day in his political career. On X, Singh mentioned that his decision was guided by his faith, values and principles and termed his entry into the BJP as a new beginning in his political journey in defence of Sanatan.
Abhay Singh: Gosainganj MLA With Two Election Victories
Abhay Singh, the MLA from Gosainganj in Ayodhya, has been at loggerheads with the SP as well for his political stand.
Singh, who began his political journey as an SP MLA, won the Gosainganj Assembly constituency for the first time in 2012. In 2017, Singh lost to BJP candidate Indra Pratap (popularly known as Khabbu Tiwari) in the polls. He, however, bounced back in 2022 and defeated BJP candidate Aarti Tiwari by 13,079 votes to win for the second term.
Singh’s endorsement of the BJP nominee in the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections, however, put him at loggerheads with the SP. His induction into the BJP marks his formal exit from the SP.
Vinod Chaturvedi: From Congress to SP and Now BJP
Vinod Chaturvedi, who represents the Kalpi Assembly constituency in Jalaun district, has seen his share of political tussles in his career as an MLA.
Winning the Kalpi Assembly constituency in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh (UP) election as an SP nominee, Chaturvedi defeated Nishad Party nominee Chhote Singh by 2,816 votes.
Before contesting from Kalpi, Chaturvedi had represented the Orai Assembly constituency in Jalaun district. Winning the Orai seat in the 2007 UP Assembly election, he had represented the constituency as an Indian National Congress (INC) MLA.
His induction into the BJP marks yet another phase in his political career as an MLA.
Why the Three MLAs Are in Focus
The political moves of the three MLAs are grabbing eyeballs as they had endorsed a BJP candidate in the 2024 Rajya Sabha polls, despite having been elected to the state Assembly on SP tickets in 2022. Their decision to join the BJP on October 14, 2026 has, thus, drawn renewed attention on shifting party loyalties in Uttar Pradesh.