Amid turmoil in West Bengal's Trinamool Congress and buzz of a brewing split in Maharashtra's Shiv Sena (UBT), speculation of a possible split in former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) surfaced on Tuesday after state minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief OP Rajbhar claimed that the opposition party could face a major exodus.
Rajbhar alleged that senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav had approached Centre amid mounting pressure over alleged corruption cases and claimed that several party leaders were preparing to switch sides.
Akhilesh Yadav responds, questioning Rajbhar's statements and motives, and accusing the BJP of engineering splits in many parties and poaching SP MLAs and MLCs in Uttar Pradesh before.
The remarks come at a time when two major opposition parties are grappling with internal rebellions, with the Trinamool Congress facing a twin challenge - a rebellion by MLAs in the state assembly and a revolt by MPs in Parliament.
Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) is also battling speculation of a split with 'Operation Tiger' gaining momentum, as leaders of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena said six MPs from the rival Sena (UBT) are likely to form a separate group and are expected to submit a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.
