Days ahead of the first phase of polling for the first phase of UP assembly elections on February 11, the ruling samajwadi Party suffered  a setback as the party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia announced on Sunday that he has resigned from all his posts in the party, including that of the National President legal Wing.

Gaurav Bhatia, son of the former advocate General Virendra Bhatia who was also the Rajya Sabha MP, said he has sent his resignation to SP national president Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav. Gaurav Bhatia later tweeted `` I have decided to resign from post of National President legal Wing SP and all posts. Forwarding my resignation to Netaji’’.

Bhatia said he would not be specifying why he was resigning, but clarified that he would not be joining any other political outfit. "My late father contributed a lot to the party and the government," Bhatia said. “For me both Akhilesh Yadav and Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) are important so I have sent my resignation to both of them."    Gaurav Bhatia is an office bearer of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

On Friday, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was named as one of the star campaigners by lok Dal amid the political flip-flop in the Yadav family. Mulayam Singh had earlier announced that he would not campaign for Akhilesh and then made a U-turn the very next day saying he would campaign for the SP-Congress alliance candidates from October 9.

Mulayam was irked over Samajwadi Party's alliance with Congress for state assembly elections and had vented his anger over the tie-up by refusing to campaign. He claimed SP alone was capable enough to bag 300 of the 403 seats and the alliance was absolutely unnecessary.