Battle for UP: Two SP leaders quit after being denied ticket

As the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections come near, more and more leaders are switching parties in search of tickets. The latest in the list are two sitting legislators of Samajwadi Party (SP) who have quit the party after being denied tickets.

Subhash Rai, SP legislator from Jalalpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after the ticket from his seat was given to Rakesh Pandey, a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator.

Rakesh Pandey had joined the SP two weeks ago and has now been rewarded with Assembly ticket.

Hazi Rizwan, another SP legislator from Kundarki in Bijnor district, has also left the party after he was denied a ticket.

He has joined the BSP which has given him the ticket from his Assembly seat.