Akhilesh Yadav set to become leader of Opposition in UP Assembly

Akhilesh Yadav, a first-time MLA, resigned as Azamgarh MP earlier this week after being elected legislator from the family stronghold of Karhal in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district. 

UP elections Akhilesh made big claim last phase of voting said SP alliance will win at least 300 seats

Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party, will be soon be seen in a new role as the opposition's leader in Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The party 111 leaders have unanimously elected him as the leader of the Samajwadi Party's legislature party, as per the party's spokesperson. 

The spokesperson further stated that the Yadav would meet leaders of the Samajwadi Party's allies and discuss the opposition's issue to raise them in Assembly. 

Yadav, a first-time MLA, resigned as Azamgarh MP earlier this week after being elected legislator from the family stronghold of Karhal in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district.

Following the reports, the former CM intends to challenge the BJP on the house floor, keeping in mind the 2027 elections in the politically significant state.

In the freshly concluded Assembly election, Yadav was the key challenger to the BJP in the UP. Despite finishing a distant second with 111 seats in the 403-member Assembly, his party recorded a massive increase in vote share and its best showing in state polls ever.

Reports revealed that Yadav's strategists think it is essential, not a choice, to keep the party's vote share intact and to avoid the perception that the Samajwadi chief, the party's biggest vote-getter, is 'running away' after defeat.

The party's top leaders are concerned that if their chief is not proactive in state politics, Muslim and Yadav voters who appear to have supported the party in polls will defect to other parties. Yadav has named his resignation as MP a 'necessary sacrifice.' 

After submitting his resignation to the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, Yadav tweeted that many people of UP have given them a moral victory in the Assembly polls. To honour this, he will represent Karhal and always remain committed to the progress of Azamgarh. 

This sacrifice is required for the fight against inflation, unemployment, and social injustice, Yadav added.