India, Oct. 15 -- LUCKNOW In a boost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a fresh setback to the Samajwadi Party (SP) ahead of the 2027 UP Assembly elections, three rebel SP legislators joined the ruling party on Wednesday in the presence of Union minister and UP BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary and BJP national general secretary Smriti Irani.

The legislators who crossed over at an induction ceremony in Gauriganj (Amethi) are Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj, Amethi), Abhay Singh (Gosainganj, Ayodhya) and Vinod Chaturvedi (Kalpi, Jalaun).

Wednesday's induction marks the culmination of a rebellion within the SP that began during the February 2024 Rajya Sabha elections, when seven party MLAs cross-voted in favour of BJP candidates, leading...