India, June 22 -- Regional parties have suffered engineered or self-inflicted splits after electoral defeats. The Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s split following its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections has sparked speculation that other parties, notably the Samajwadi Party (SP), could be next.

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya indicated defections of SP members of Parliament (MPs), lending seriousness to the speculation, after ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Om Prakash Rajbhar's claim about it was met with scepticism.

Follow updates related to Shiv Sena (UBT) split here.

Apparently, carrots have been dangled before vulnerable SP MPs, as the party chief, Akhilesh Yadav, remains preoccupied with t...