Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav decided not to field a third candidate for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections, despite earlier indicating that the party would attempt to claim the additional seat. The decision came on the final day for filing nominations and means the 10 candidates in the fray for the 10 available Rajya Sabha seats are likely to be elected unopposed. Akhilesh indicated that the party had shifted its attention towards the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, saying in a post that its focus was now on the state's 403-member Assembly rather than securing a third Rajya Sabha seat.

The Samajwadi Party had initially prepared for the possibility of contesting the third seat and had obtained four nomination forms. Akhilesh had also hinted that the party could field a surprise candidate if it managed to gather enough support. However, only Ram Gopal Yadav, who is seeking another term in the Rajya Sabha, and Reliance Industries executive Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani filed nominations from the SP side by Tuesday. The BJP, meanwhile, announced eight candidates, including replacements for Union Ministers Hardeep Puri and BL Verma, whose terms are ending. With eight BJP nominees and two candidates backed by the SP, all 10 seats are expected to be filled without a contest.

The main challenge for the SP was its numbers in the Assembly. Under the single transferable vote system used for Rajya Sabha elections, a candidate needs 37 first-preference votes based on the current effective strength of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The SP had won 111 seats in the 2022 Assembly election, but its strength has since fallen to 98 MLAs because of vacancies and disqualifications. Two Congress MLAs could potentially take the SP-Congress strength to 100. After using 74 votes to secure two Rajya Sabha seats, the SP would have had a surplus of 26 votes, leaving it short of the 37 needed for a third candidate and requiring at least 11 votes from outside its existing camp.

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That requirement would have made cross-voting an important factor and could have created additional political risks for the SP ahead of the 2027 Assembly election. The BJP and its allies could potentially have attempted to attract independent legislators or dissatisfied SP MLAs, increasing the possibility of internal divisions. An SP legislator said signatures of some MLAs had been collected on blank nomination forms so they could be used as proposers if the party eventually decided to enter a third candidate. However, the party ultimately did not proceed with the plan, apparently choosing to avoid a contest in which it did not have a reliable path to the required numbers.

The SP had explored several possible sources of additional support. It was hopeful of receiving backing from three MLAs of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, while Akhilesh had also appealed to rebel SP legislators to set aside differences and unite against the BJP. Even if the expelled MLAs had returned, however, the SP's strength would have reached only about 32, still leaving the party six votes short of the required figure. After the BJP announced its candidates, three rebel MLAs met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, suggesting that their return to the SP was unlikely. Among SBSP legislators, only Abbas Ansari was reported to have met Akhilesh.

The BJP and its allies also held a decisive numerical advantage. The BJP-led alliance, including Apna Dal (S), Rashtriya Lok Dal, SBSP and Nishad Party, had 291 MLAs, while support from Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik)'s two legislators would take the broader alliance strength to 293. That was sufficient for the BJP to secure all eight of its Rajya Sabha nominees. With the SP unable to assemble the additional votes needed for a third seat and the potential risks of encouraging cross-voting, Akhilesh ultimately chose not to pursue the gamble, turning the party's attention towards the larger political battle expected in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.

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