Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Akhilesh Yadav Replaces OBC Candidate With BJP Defector
Akhilesh Yadav leads the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
His party had chosen Kamlesh Yadav, an OBC candidate, to run for a Legislative Council seat.
It then replaced him with Sanjayan Tripathi, who had recently left the BJP.
Tripathi said the BJP had not given him a ticket and that he had planned to run on his own.
Some people said the change did not match Akhilesh Yadav’s message of supporting OBCs, Dalits and Muslims.
Kamlesh Yadav said he accepted his leader’s decision.
The article also describes Congress’s appointments of OBC and Dalit leaders and its alliance with Swami Prasad Maurya.
The MLC election is scheduled for October 23, but the article does not specify the year.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav named BJP defector Sanjayan Tripathi as the party’s candidate for a Legislative Council seat.
Tripathi replaced Kamlesh Yadav, an OBC candidate whose nomination the party had announced the previous week.
Tripathi said he had been preparing to run as an independent after the BJP did not give him a ticket.
The change drew criticism from an SP member and observers who said it conflicted with Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA platform for OBCs, Dalits and Muslims.
The article contrasts the SP decision with Congress appointments of OBC and Dalit leaders and its alliance with Swami Prasad Maurya.
- Who
- Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, candidate Sanjayan Tripathi and replaced candidate Kamlesh Yadav.
- What
- The SP replaced its announced OBC candidate for a Legislative Council seat with Tripathi, a former BJP member.
- When
- The change was reported after Kamlesh Yadav’s nomination was announced the previous week; the MLC election is scheduled for October 23, with no year specified.
- Where
- The Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers’ constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
- Why
- Tripathi said the BJP had not given him a ticket. The article does not state Akhilesh Yadav’s reason for selecting him.
Critics of the candidate change
Defence and party-aligned responses
Consistency with the PDA platform
Critics of the candidate change
An SP member and observers argued that choosing a Brahmin candidate over an OBC candidate undermined the party’s stated support for OBCs, Dalits and Muslims.
Defence and party-aligned responses
Tripathi thanked Akhilesh Yadav for selecting him, while Kamlesh Yadav said he accepted his leader’s decision.
The SP’s political strategy
Critics of the candidate change
Journalist Ajay Kumar said the SP was giving empty slogans on PDA, while Ashok Yadav of the BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal mocked the slogan.
Defence and party-aligned responses
The article reports that the Congress highlighted its OBC and Dalit office-holders and alliance with Swami Prasad Maurya as evidence of its own PDA-related efforts.
- Party
- Samajwadi Party (SP)
- SP president
- Akhilesh Yadav
- New candidate
- Sanjayan Tripathi, described as a BJP defector
- Replaced candidate
- Kamlesh Yadav, described as an OBC candidate
- Seat
- Legislative Council seat for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers’ constituency
- Election date
- October 23; year not specified in the article
- PDA
- Akhilesh Yadav’s campaign theme referring to Pichhra (OBCs), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (Muslims)