With an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party has decided to support Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary in the Rajya Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh even though both the leaders are not contesting the election on the symbol of the SP.

Kapil Sibal is an independent candidate while Jayant Chaudhary will contest the poll on RLD election symbol ‘hand pump’. Jayant is likely to file his nomination papers on Monday.

“For the sake of alliance and placating senior party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, Akhilesh Yadav had to compromise and none of the three candidates is his choice. Akhilesh Yadav wanted Jayant Chaudhary to contest as Samajwadi Party candidate but he declined. Akhilesh Yadav had no option but to concede Jayant Chaudhary’s demand to contest the poll on his own party symbol,” a SP leader said.

The third candidate is a protégé of Ram Gopal Yadav, the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav.

Sources said Kapil Sibal had first contacted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a Rajya Sabha seat. She had agreed but put the condition of joining her party Trinamool Congress first. Sibal declined to join her party and his wish for contesting the election as an independent candidate was fulfilled by the Samajwadi Party.

Sources in the SP said Akhilesh Yadav had decided to field his wife and former MP Dimple Yadav for the Rajya Sabha but he was forced to defer his choice for the next election. Dimple Yadav is likely to be the SP candidate from Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat where bypoll is scheduled to be held in June.

The supporters of Akhilesh Yadav, however, maintain that their party president has tried to score many goals with one shot.

“To placate Azam Khan who is angry with the SP these days, Kapil Sibal, who was his lawyer, was backed by the SP. On the other hand, Jayant Chaudhary has been given a message to follow the alliance 'dharma'. The party has reposed faith in Sambhal's Javed Ali Khan. Along with this, the party has also tried to woo Muslim voters amid the increasing distance from Azam Khan,” said a senior SP leader.

The sources claim that the reason for Akhilesh Yadav supporting Kapil Sibal is that it will give the party a loud voice in the Rajya Sabha and will also help in sorting out the internal differences in the party. Along with this, due to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav's health issues and the compulsion of his own active presence in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav needs an effective advocate for himself in the national politics.

The SP is very upset with the rebellious attitude of Azam Khan and Akhilesh's uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav. In such a situation, it is believed that Kapil Sibal can play a big role in persuading Azam Khan.

There is deep resentment among the Muslims against the Samajwadi Party after the assembly elections. Not much time is left for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In such a situation, the SP wants to keep its Muslim votes intact. There was pressure from Azam Khan to support Kapil Sibal and that is why he is being sent to the Rajya Sabha.

Efforts are also on to prepare a third front against the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Lok Sabha elections and so Akhilesh Yadav is meeting Chief Ministers K Chandrashekar Rao and Arvind Kejriwal. Jayant and Om Prakash Rajbhar were taken care of so that there is no setback in Uttar Pradesh.