Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was unanimously elected as the Leader of Opposition by the party’s 111 legislators, said a party spokesperson, reported news agency PTI.
The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP) will be meeting the leaders of allied parties in order to discuss issues that will be taken up by the Opposition, said the spokesperson.
Yadav intends to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the floor of the house, with an eye on the 2027 elections, sources told NDTV.
They added that Yadav’s strategists believe that it is not a choice but a necessity to keep the party’s vote share intact and to steer clear of the perception that the party’s biggest ‘vote-getter’ is running away after a defeat.
SP Chief Naresh Uttam Patel had convened a meeting of leaders, national presidents, and MLAs of the party’s allies.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Patel said that under Yadav's leadership, the SP will raise the issues concerning people and oppose the wrong policies of the state government, reported PTI.
Yadav’s Trajectory: From MP to MLA
Akhilesh Yadav, who is a first-time MLA, had recently resigned as Lok Sabha MP from the Azamgarh constituency after he was elected as a legislator from his family’s stronghold Karhal, in UP’s Mainpuri district.
He had earlier described his resignation as a ‘necessary sacrifice,’ on Twitter, saying that crores of people had given the party a moral victory and hence he would represent Karhal to honour this. He added that he would remain committed to Azamgarh’s progress.
The recent election marked his first state polls. During his tenure as the chief minister, he was a member of the legislative council.
(With inputs from PTI and NDTV.)
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