NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and senior party leader Azam Khan resigned as a member of Lok Sabha on Tuesday, days after they won the recently-concluded assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
While Yadav won the assembly election from his family pocket borough of Karhal in Mainpuri, Khan, who is in jail on multiple charges including cheating, won from Rampur Khas seat.
Yadav, who represents Azamgarh constituency, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament complex and submitted his resignation. An MP from Rampur parliamentary seat, Khan is believed to tendered his resignation in letter to the Speaker.
According to party leaders, the former chief minister Yadav has decided to opt for the state legislative assembly to strengthen the Samajwadi Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in 2024 and also to boost the party’s prospects in the next assembly election in 2027.
Yadav had won from the family pocket borough of Mainpuri’s Karhal in the recently-held assembly election, the first state poll he contested. During his stint as the chief minister between 2012 and 2017, Yadav was a member of the state legislative council. He had represented Kannuj parliamentary seat in the Lower House before taking over the reins of the state.
His Samajwadi Party won 111 seats in the 403-strong Uttar Pradesh assembly elections held in February-March.