The Samajwadi Party, with new confidence and stature in state politics, is all set to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh legislature commencing here from Monday.

The proceedings are likely to be stormy as this will be the first session of the UP legislature after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in which the SP won 37 seats.

Besides the myriad issues like floods, law and order, farmers’ issue, the SP will try to corner the government over the reported rumblings in the BJP’s state unit and the poor performance of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha elections.

The state government has decided to hold a brief monsoon session with five sittings to carry out pending legislative business. The state cabinet (by circulation) has decided to hold the monsoon session from July 29.

Though after the Delhi visit of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his meetings with the top leadership of the party, the issues plaguing the party are said to have been settled, the focus of the SP will be on Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya amid the ‘sarkar versus sangathan’ (government versus organisation) rift in the BJP.

An aggressive opposition is likely to use the opportunity to target the BJP government during the session. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who has resigned as MLA following his election to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj, has already given indications in this regard. He has set the tone and tenor for the opposition’s likely aggressive agenda on social media.

“Monsoon Offer, bring a hundred, form the government!” stated Yadav in a post in Hindi on X. “This is clear from the unfolding developments that the BJP government has ceased to function in Uttar Pradesh. The statements of BJP leaders speak on the situation in the BJP. If 100 dissatisfied MLAs part ways, the Samajwadi Party will ensure formation of their government,” said SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary.

“SP chief is confused. This reflects their ego. Whenever the Samajwadi Party gains a few seats, its leaders begin behaving in this fashion. Anti-defection law is in force. So, such a statement is ridiculous,” said Vijay Pathak, MLC and Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president.

“The BJP government has failed on all fronts and the people have distanced from the party. The prevailing situation in the BJP reflects this,” said UP Congress Committee president Ajay Rai.

Besides the floods that have affected several districts of UP, the opposition has given indications about raising issues of people’s concern like rising inflation. Both the government and opposition have begun preparations for the by-election to 10 assembly seats in the coming months. The bypolls may prove to be an acid test for the BJP and the opposition alike.

It may be mentioned that the state legislature’s budget session was adjourned sine die on February 10. So, the state government is constitutionally bound to convene the state legislature’s session before August 10.

Meanwhile, UP assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, on Sunday, convened an all-party meeting. Leaders of all the parties attended the meeting in which the speaker sought the cooperation of the opposition parties for the smooth conduct of the assembly. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, seeking the cooperation of the opposition parties, said the government was ready for debate on all issues to be raised by the opposition.

Mata Prasad Pandey, who took over as leader of opposition on Sunday, also attended the meeting.

The speaker also presided over the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee. The committee approved the agenda of the assembly to be taken up during the monsoon session.