Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav resigned as MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Karhal assembly seat on Wednesday after deciding to continue as the MP for the Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency. He won the Kannauj constituency in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Party leader Awadhesh Prasad also resigned from his MLA post after winning the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. A letter regarding the resignation was received by the office of Principal Secretary of the Legislative Assembly, Pradeep Dubey.

Yadav had been the MLA from the Karhal assembly, which he won in the 2022 UP assembly polls, and was designated as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.

On Tuesday, the SP chief announced his decision, stating that he would be resigning from Uttar Pradesh's Karhal Assembly seat.

"I have met the workers of Karhal and Mainpuri and told them that since I have won elections from two seats, I have to leave one. So, I will inform you about leaving the Vidhan Sabha seat soon," Akhilesh Yadav said in a press conference on Tuesday.

When asked who would be the next Leader of the Opposition, Yadav said, "The decision will be taken by the party in a way that is beneficial for the party and increases the party's vote share."

SP leader Awadhesh Prasad also resigned from the membership of the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Prasad, an MLA from Milkipur assembly seat, has been elected as an MP from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. He defeated two-time MP Lallu Singh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would be the party's leader in the Lok Sabha. The Samajwadi Party put up an impressive show in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 37 out of the 80 seats. The former Chief Minister himself won the party's stronghold seat of Kannauj, defeating BJP candidate Subrat Pathak by over 1,70,922 votes.

In the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party won 37 seats, the BJP won 33, Congress won 6, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won 2, and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and Apna Dal (Soneylal) won 1 seat each.

(With input from agencies)