Mata Prasad Pandey becomes Leader of Opposition in UP (File)
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh has made Mata Prasad Pandey the Leader of the Opposition in a major reshuffle. The Samajwadi Party on Sunday elected former speaker Mata Prasad Pandey as the leader of the Samajwadi Party legislative party. Earlier, Mata Prasad has been the Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Currently, he is also an MLA from Itwa seat in Siddharthnagar.
Mata Prasad has the identity of a strong leader in state politics. He is one of the experienced leaders of Samajwadi Party. He has been a minister in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s government. He has also been the Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He hails from the Brahmin community of eastern Uttar Pradesh. With this appointment, Akhilesh has bet on a Brahmin leader to replace his famous PDA in the state.
It is believed that the Brahmin community in the state is upset with the BJP and Akhilesh Yadav is eyeing to woo this angry community. Apart from making Mata Prasad Pandey the Leader of Opposition, the Samajwadi Party has also made some other appointments. On behalf of the party in the Assembly, MLA Mehboob Ali has been made a member of the Board of Governors.
Apart from this, the Samajwadi Party has appointed MLA Kamal Akhtar as the Chief Whip of the Legislative Assembly. While MLA Rakesh Kumar alias Dr. RK Verma has been made Deputy Whip in the Assembly.
