Akhilesh Yadav sacks party members including former MLC Kailash Singh

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav expelled party members including former MLC Kailash Singh, former District Panchayat President of Ghazipur Vijay Yadav and others for opposing the party during the MLC election in Ghazipur.

Meanwhile, Yadav on Tuesday held a meeting with leaders of party allies Apna Dal (K), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

However, Akhilesh's uncle Uttar Pradesh MLA and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) leader Shivpal Yadav, who contested from Jaswant Nagar on an SP ticket, was not present at the meeting.

Besides Shivpal Yadav, Apna Dal (K) leader Pallavi Patel, too, did not attend the meeting.

While SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and leader of RLD legislature party Rajpal Baliyan attended the meeting with Akhilesh.

"The defeat was reviewed in the meeting, how will the voice of the common people be vigorously raised in the house? The poor labourers will fight the battle of the unemployed," Baliyan told ANI.

On being asked about the absence of Shivpal Yadav from the meeting, he said, "There is no resentment. We are all together."

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had retained power for a second successive term in the state by winning 255 of the 403 assembly seats. While the SP bagged 111 seats and emerged as a strong opposition.