Expelled SP MLA Pooja Pal meets Yogi, says, ‘Not joining BJP for now’

Chail MLA Pooja Pal, recently expelled from the Samajwadi Party over alleged anti-party activities, has ruled out an immediate switch to the BJP, saying she will chart her political course only after consulting her community.

On Saturday, she met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Following the meeting, Pal emphasised that she was associated with “Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party,” not Mulayam Singh Yadav’s.

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When asked whether she had completely shut the door on the Samajwadi Party, Pal responded, “They have already shut the door themselves, and that’s a good thing. If I join any party, it will be based on ideology, and one’s ideology should be clear.”

She also recalled the Akhilesh Yadav-led government (2012–2017), stressing that it had kept mafia elements at bay. “I was not part of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party. I was part of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party because he kept the mafia away,” she said.

Pal further criticised the party for questioning the police encounter of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed’s son, Asad Ahmed, who was killed in a 2023 shootout.

As for her future, the three-time MLA reiterated that she would consult members of the Pal community before making any decision. On speculation about joining the BJP, she made it clear: “Not right now.”

Both the Chief Minister’s Office and Pooja Pal shared details of her meeting with CM Adityanath on the microblogging site X. The official handle of the CM’s Office posted in Hindi: “Honourable MLA Pooja Pal from Chail assembly constituency in Kaushambi district paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow today.”