Lucknow, Oct 17 (IANS): The Samajwadi Party will field Narendra Verma, a six-time MLA from the Mahmudabad Assembly seat in Sitapur district, as a party candidate for the post of deputy speaker.
Elections for the post are slated to be held on Monday.
With SP announcing its candidate, elections will be held for the post though the victory of the BJP candidate is a certainty keeping in mind the numbers.
Nitin Agarwal happens to be an SP MLA who joined the BJP in 2018. He continues to be an SP MLA as the party has not expelled him.
SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary, said, "Traditionally, the seat goes to the principal opposition party but the ruling BJP has thrown all traditions to the winds by fielding their candidate."
For the SP, Verma's nomination is more of a strategic move.
Narendra Verma is a Kurmi, the SP is keen to demonstrate that it goes beyond Yadavs in the OBC category.