A meeting between Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP MP Ritesh Pandey has triggered speculation of the latter joining the SP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Ritesh's father Rakesh Pandey is an SP MLA. A picture of the meeting between Akhilesh and Ritesh Pandey is going viral on the social media. Ritesh Pandey had won the election as the BSP candidate in 2019 when the SP and BSP were allies.
His father Rakesh Pandey was in the BSP but joined the SP before the 2022 Assembly polls and won the Jalalpur seat in Ambedkar Nagar. When asked about the meeting, an SP spokesperson said: "Many people from different political parties want to join SP and such meetings are a routine affair."
However, BSP leaders said that the meeting was a 'serious' matter and BSP president Mayawati would take necessary action because party discipline violation has never been tolerated. Ritesh Pandey was not available for comments.