BJP Gains as Samajwadi Party MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh Set to Join the Party

Samajwadi Party MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh, who had rebelled before the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, is going to join the BJP on Wednesday (October 14). Rakesh, who won on SP ticket for three consecutive terms, defeated BJP's Chandraprakash Mishra Matiyari in the 2022 elections. BJP may give him a ticket from the same seat in 2027. On the other hand, many names are being discussed for a ticket in SP too. Gauriganj, which came into existence in 1967, is a Brahmin-dominated seat. The constituency was expanded in the 2008 delimitation. The number of Brahmin voters in the area is about 70,000. The number of Dalit and Muslim voters is about 35,000. There are about 45,000 Kshatriya voters. There are about 35,000 Yadav voters. There are also about 40,000 Other Backward Class and about 10,000 Baniya Samaj voters. Rakesh Pratap Singh has been a three-time MLA from Samajwadi Party. On the other hand, he has a core Samajwadi Party voter called Yadav voters and although he has been associated with Muslim voters, he says that after coming to power, he will face a very small challenge from the party's traditional Muslim supporters.