Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders on Thursday, 18 June sharply rebuked Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar after both leaders publicly predicted an imminent split within the Akhilesh Yadav-led party. SP dismissed the claims as politically motivated fabrications designed to undermine its growing electoral momentum ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

What Maurya and Rajbhar Claimed

At a press conference on Wednesday, Maurya asserted that 25 to 26 Samajwadi Party MPs are 'ready to break away,' adding that his side was not actively engineering the split but expected it to happen on its own. Rajbhar, meanwhile, claimed a split within SP was 'inevitable' and would reportedly be led by the 'son of UP's land of rebels' — a phrase widely interpreted as a reference to SP MP Sanatan Pandey. Pandey, however, denied the claim when contacted.

SP's Point-by-Point Rebuttal

SP national General Secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav dismissed Maurya's remarks outright. 'Keshav Prasad Maurya is not even in a position to ensure his own victory. The Samajwadi Party has defeated him in several elections. Therefore, when he makes such statements, it only reflects that these are the people who spread lies,' Yadav said.

SP MP Neeraj Kushwaha Maurya alleged that Rajbhar is 'worried' about his own political future. 'In the coming time, he may face a major defeat in the constituency where he is currently an MLA. That is why he is making such baseless statements. Actually, these people are concerned about their future,' he said.

The PDA Angle: SP Alleges a Coordinated BJP Strategy

SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma went further, arguing there is a deliberate 'strategy' behind the remarks. 'The BJP has positioned leaders from the PDA community to counter the PDA narrative. First, Rajbhar, then Maurya, and soon (Sanjay) Nishad may come forward, followed by Anupriya Patel. However, no Thakur, Brahmin, or leader from an upper caste within the BJP will make such statements,' Verma said. He also explained the arithmetic behind the figure of 25: 'In order to break the 37 SP Lok Sabha MPs, they will require a two-thirds majority, meaning 25 MPs — that is why the number 25 is being claimed.'

Opposition Solidarity and What Comes Next

SP MP Jitendra Kumar Dohare asserted that the party remains united under Akhilesh Yadav's leadership and is on course to form the government in UP in 2027, calling the split talk a sign of frustration among rivals. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha also backed SP, warning that normalising manufactured defections would erode the meaning of party mandates for Indian voters. This comes amid a broader pattern of pre-election destabilisation attempts targeting opposition parties in the Hindi heartland, with the 2027 UP polls increasingly shaping political calculations across party lines.