UP: Akhilesh Yadav dissolves SP's Gorakhpur executive commitee after alleged scuffle at party office

In a major political turnover, the Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav has dissolved the party's entire Gorakhpur executive committee with immediate effect, removing both the Gorakhpur District President and the City President from their posts.

In a major political turnover, the Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav has dissolved the party's entire Gorakhpur executive committee with immediate effect, removing both the Gorakhpur District President and the City President from their posts. The development comes after a recent incident where a scuffle allegedly broke out at the party office during a press conference, causing severe embarrassment for the party in the Purvanchal region. The incident took place ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections

The party leadership stripped all office-bearers of the main district and city units of their responsibilities. Office-bearers across all SP frontal organisations and allied wings in Gorakhpur have been removed from their positions. Both the Gorakhpur District President and the City President stand ousted as part of the disciplinary overhaul. Earlier on Saturday, the SP Chief issued a gag order to party leaders on Saturday, directing them to keep their opinions on seat-sharing negotiations and the Congress strictly within internal party channels.

Addressing reporters at an event in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav stepped in to de-escalate public squabbling following sharp remarks from his own party MP, Shiv Pal Singh Patel. "I would like to tell all our leaders that whatever opinions or concerns they have regarding seat-sharing should be shared with us,” said Akhilesh Yadav.

The friction was sparked by SP MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel, who publicly called the Congress party's reported demand for 150 seats unrealistic and cautioned against allocating excess seats that could jeopardise victory. Patel highlighted the severe disparity in performance during the previous assembly election, noting that while the Congress won just 2 seats, the SP secured 125.

"Given the current circumstances, the Congress party's demands are highly unreasonable. They currently have two MLAs, whereas we have 125. Based on this ratio, they should receive seven or eight seats… We can give them even 50 seats; anything beyond that would simply mean wasting seats and risking defeat," Shiv Pal Singh Patel told ANI. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls in 2027, with the BJP and the SP expected to be the principal contenders.

The BJP has retained power in Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out of 403 constituencies, securing a 41.29 per cent vote share. Former CM Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party came a distant second in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh election, securing 111 seats and getting 32.06 per cent of the votes.

The two other major parties - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Indian National Congress (INC) - were reduced to a single digit. BSP won one seat and Congress two seats. Moreover, the vote shares of BSP and the Congress party stood at 12.88 per cent and 2.33 per cent, respectively. (ANI)