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 drawn core support from the Yadav community, along with Muslims, the BJP has long sought to expand its footprint among non-Yadav OBC castes through targeted outreach and welfare schemes. Any substantial defection of OBC legislators could weaken the SP's organisational hold in key regions and further tilt the caste arithmetic in the BJP's favour ahead of 2027. The exchange of accusations underscores the intense fight for OBC votes in Uttar Pradesh's caste-centric politics. Lalji Verma, the SP MP from Ambedkar Nagar and a prominent OBC leader, said, "People like OP Rajbhar, Brajesh Pathak, Sanjay Nishad and Keshav Maurya just spread falsehood. All Samajwadi Party MPs firmly stand with Akhilesh Yadav and our socialist ideology. We will remove this anti-constitutional BJP government from UP in 2027." Verma added that no one had approached him or other MPs with any offers. He claimed that leaders such as OP Rajbhar and Sanjay Nishad were frustrated and could eventually leave the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Rambhual Nishad, the SP MP from Sultanpur, termed the rumours baseless and blamed "politically frustrated people" for spreading them. He said both Rajbhar and Nishad were upset, particularly after Nishad's son lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election. "The BJP is an expert in rumours. I am warning Sanjay Nishad and OP Rajbhar that their bad days will start if they misbehave with any of our MPs," he warned. Ramashankar Rajbhar, the SP MP from Salempur, alleged that the rumours were being spread to divert attention from the alleged irregularities in donations at the Ayodhya Ram temple. "These people are mouthpieces of the BJP. Their only motto is to divert public attention from whatever is happening in Ayodhya," he said. Awadhesh Prasad, the SP's poster boy for the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls and Faizabad MP, said, "People like OP Rajbhar have no self-made ground. He won elections because of Akhilesh Yadav. With five to six months remaining until the UP assembly elections, they have lost sleep. For 2027, I don't know how many people they have promised tickets to. The Samajwadi Party stands together firmly like a rock." Prasad is a Dalit MP from a general seat. Ram Prasad Chaudhary, the SP MP from neighbouring Basti, stated, "People like Rajbhar will keep giving absurd statements to catch the eye of the chief minister and the Prime Minister. In 2024, we all saw how the SP defeated the ruling BJP (in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh). In 2027, the SP will form the government. The BJP and its allies are rattled by Akhileshji's PDA formula. No one from the saffron camp has ever approached me. I have not stepped out of my constituency for the last month." OP Rajbhar, chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and a key NDA ally, had earlier claimed that the SP leadership was panicking due to multiple CBI investigations. He alleged that only a few Yadav family members would remain in the party, while a large number of leaders were ready to switch sides. Rajbhar also referred to a purported letter sent by Ram Gopal Yadav to Union home minister Amit Shah listing potential defectors. The SP, which secured a record 37 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections, has strongly rejected the allegations as a BJP "mind game" to create an impression of instability. Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav has already dismissed the buzz with a cryptic social media post, while Ram Gopal Yadav challenged critics to ask Amit Shah directly whether any such letter exists and insisted there is no factionalism or crisis within the party. Utkarsh Verma, the SP MP from Kheri, along with the party's Dhaurahra MP Anand Bhaduaria, submitted a written complaint at the Kheri Kotwali police station on Friday demanding action against those circulating fake news about a split in the SP on social media. Verma said the rumours were causing mental trauma to party workers. Both MPs emphasised that all 37 SP MPs stand firmly with Akhilesh Yadav and are working to form a full majority SP government in 2027.Naresh Uttam Patel, SP MP from Fatehpur, advised Rajbhar to first secure his own MLAs, warning that the BJP might try to take them away. The strong denial also comes amid recent political developments involving the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) that ignited fresh discussion over the possibility of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coming within striking distance of the two-thirds majority in Parliament....