Akhilesh Yadav's strong reaction as BJP ally confirms cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday slammed the leaders of his party who allegedly cross-voted in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections, saying not "everybody has the guts to stand against the government".

The reaction came hours after Samajwadi Party's chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey resigned ahead of voting, fueling speculation of cross-voting.

"Not everybody has the guts to stand against the government...pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn't know that BJP would go to any extent to win," Yadav said.

Yadav said action will be taken against such leaders.

"The BJP was dishonest during the Chandigarh elections also... When it comes to UP, BJP did everything to get votes and those who left, might not have had the guts to stand against the government. Action will be taken because our party leaders want such people to be kept away from the party," he added.

BJP confirms cross-voting

Also read: Samajwadi Party MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey resigns as chief whip amid UP Rajya Sabha polls

Meanwhile, BJP ally OP Rajbhar confirmed that there will be cross-voting from the Samajwadi Party.

"The 8 candidates from the BJP are going to win. Raja Bhaiya and all our allies are in support of the BJP. Samajwadi Party leaders are openly agreeing to vote for BJP. There will be cross-voting from the Samajwadi Party. They will support the NDA, 100% there will be cross-voting," he said.

Also read: BJP reveals Lok Sabha election plan for Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar

BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh, taking a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, said it could not keep its house in order.

"There are eight candidates and all of them will be going to Delhi, and there's no doubt about that. Those who are afraid have claimed that the BJP has poached their leaders. This means that they couldn't safeguard their house. Samajwadi Party should look at its own house before accusing others," he said.

Eight SP MLAs skipped Akhilesh Yadav's meeting

Eight SP leaders had skipped Akhilesh Yadav's meeting on Monday evening. Asked about the snub earlier today, Yadav had said those who wanted to profit from the situation "will go".

Pandey and seven other MLAs -- Mukesh Verma, Maharaji Prajapati, Pooja Pal, Rakesh Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, Rakesh Pratap Singh and Abhay Singh -- skipped the meeting.

The BJP has fielded eight candidates and the opposition Samajwadi Party three for 10 Rajya Sabha seats for which voting is being held.

On Pandey's resignation, UP minister Dayashankar Singh said he had always been a supporter of the Sanatan Dharma.

"He has always been giving statements regarding the same. He wanted everyone to visit Ayodhya and have a darshan. This is the reason he is showing faith in PM Modi's leadership and is taking such a decision," he said.

UP's deputy CM KP Maurya said the BJP will win 8 seats.

With inputs from PTI, ANI