LUCKNOW: Having failed to win even a single seat in the just concluded biennial elections of five seats of UP Legislative Council, the Samajwadi Party missed another opportunity to get the post of Leader of Opposition in the upper house of the state legislature.
The ruling BJP won four of the five seats while one seat went to an independent. Polling was held on January 30. The results were declared on February 3.
However, the post of Leader of Opposition in UP Vidhan Parishad has been lying vacant since July 6, 2022. This is the first instance after 1954 that the Upper House is working without a leader of the opposition.
In fact, to have the post of the leader of opposition in the 100-member UP legislative council, the largest opposition party should have a minimum of 10 members. In the given scenario, the main opposition, the SP has just nine members thus falling short by one. The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council secretariat, by an order on July 6, 2022, divested the Samajwadi Party of the post of leader of Opposition. As per the order, the Samajwadi Party’s position in the Council had fallen short of 10. Consequently, the position of the then Leader of Opposition in the Council Lal Bihari Yadav stood derecognised.
Lal Bihari Yadav, who took over the post in May 2022, moved to Allahabad High Court to challenge his derecognition. In October, the Allahabad HC dismissed his plea. The Samajwadi Party continues to have nine members in the Council.