Lucknow, Oct. 27 -- In a significant expansion of its support base ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party on Monday inducted several leaders, including former IAS officer Ram Bahadur Pasi, two former BJP MLAs from Badaun and a prominent Prajapati community leader, in the presence of national president Akhilesh Yadav.

The formal induction took place during a press conference at the SP headquarters in Lucknow on Monday. Those who joined included Pasi, a retired IAS officer once regarded as close to BSP chief Mayawati; Kushagra Sagar, former BJP MLA from Bisauli; Sinod Kumar Shakya, former MLA from Dataganj; and Dara Singh Prajapati, a former BSP Lok Sabha candidate from Muzaffarnagar and national president ...