Lucknow, June 20 -- Amid claims of a possible split in the Samajwadi Party camp, HT on Friday reached out to multiple SP MPs, many of them from the backward caste, who denied being approached by anyone from the ruling party or its allies and reasserted that they stand firmly behind Akhilesh Yadav and the SP.

Senior OBC MPs of the Samajwadi Party dismissed as baseless the claims by Uttar Pradesh ministers Omprakash Rajbhar, Sanjay Nishad and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya regarding a possible split in the party. The MPs said it was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Political observers note that the focus on OBC MPs is significant. While the SP has traditionally draw...