The Samajwadi Party has lost the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council after its strength dropped below the required 10 MLCs in the 100-member House.
On May 27, the Samajwadi Party, with its 11 members in the Legislative Council, was the largest opposition party, according to a statement by Principal Secretary Rajesh Singh.
Based on this, Lal Bihari Yadav was recognised as the Leader of the Opposition.
"On July 7, the number of Samajwadi Party members in the Council was reduced to nine, which is one less than the required number of 10 leaders for getting the status of the main opposition.
"Thus, Lal Bihari Yadav's recognition as Leader of Opposition is being ended by the chairman with immediate effect. He continues to remain the leader of the Samajwadi Party in the Council," reads the statement issued on Thursday.
Reacting to the development, Samajwadi Party leader Sanjay Lathar, who served as the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council before Yadav, said the leader of the second-largest party in the House gets the post.
"Because the Samajwadi Party is the second-largest party in the legislative council, its leader must be recognised as the Leader of Opposition. We will go to court against this," he told PTI
Through such acts, the ruling BJP is "murdering democracy", Lathar alleged.
The terms of 12 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council ended on Wednesday. These include Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Minister Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, but both of them have returned to the House after their victory in the recently held Legislative Council elections.
Apart from this, the term of six members of the Samajwadi Party, three of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the lone member of the Congress ended on Wednesday.
Currently, the BJP has 72 members in the Upper House of the Uttar Pradesh legislature while Samajwadi Party has nine. The Congress has no member in the House.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You’ve hit your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Quarterly Starter
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online
Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app