The Samajwadi Party on Monday expelled three of its MLAs from Uttar Pradesh who had cross-voted in support of the Bharatiya Janata Party during Rajya Sabha elections last year.

Gosaiganj MLA Abhay Singh, Gauriganj MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Unchahar MLA and former chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey were the legislators who were removed.

They were among seven party members who had cross-voted in Uttar Pradesh’s Rajya Sabha elections in February 2024.

With this, the party has 104 MLAs in the 403-member Legislative Assembly.

The cross-voting had led to the defeat of one of the three candidates put forward by the Samajwadi Party in that election.

The Samajwadi Party said on Monday that the three legislators were expelled for “supporting an ideology which is against farmers, women, youth, businesses, working professionals and PDA [Pichde, Dalit and Alpasankhyak]”.

PDA is a term used by the party for “pichde” (backward classes), Dalits, and “alpasankhyak” (minorities) to denote a social coalition of marginalised communities.

The Samajwadi Party said on Monday that a “grace period” that had been given for the three MLAs to have a “change of heart” was now over. It said that the grace period remained in place for the other legislators on account of their “good conduct”.

“In the future also, there will be no place in the party for anti-people individuals,” the Samajwadi Party asserted.