Six SP MLAs defect to BSP to ‘serve people’

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Six-SP-MLAs-defect-to-BSP-to-serve-people/articleshow/9493412.cms

LUCKNOW: After receiving several setback when its three MLAs defected to SP, the ruling BSP has struck back at its arch rival, the SP. While on Thursday Sandhya Katheriaya, a sitting SP MLA from Kishna assembly constituency in SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s home ground Mainpuri, joined BSP, on Friday five sitting SP MLAs defected to BSP.

The five SP MLAs who have defected to the ruling BSP are Sarvesh SIngh MLA from Sagr constituency in Azamgarh, Sultan Beg MLA from Kawar constituency in Bareilly, Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel from Hamirpur, Sandeep Agarwal from Moradabad, Sundar Lal Lodhi from Hadha constituency in Unnao and Suraj Singh Shakya from Kanshiram Nagar.

The move is being seen as BSP reply to SP. While MLAs are defecting after being denied ticket by their parties for the assembly elections due next year in April-May, by engineering defections, the political parties are trying to give impression that the poll mood is in their favour.

Significantly, three BSP MLAs and several other leaders have defected to SP since May this year. Those who have joined SP include BSP MLA from Mallawa in Hardoi, Satish Verma, BSP MLA from Masauli in Barabanki district, Farid Mefhooz Kidwai and BSP MLA from Jalalpur, Ambedkarnagar, Sher Bahadur Singh.

All the turncoats enjoyed their term as MLA for four-and-a-half years and now after being denied election tickets, they all suddenly realised that their parent party is ‘suffocating’. They all said that they have defected to ‘serve the people’.