Amit Shah in Lucknow:3 Samajwadi Party legislators quit the party

Lucknow: In a jolt to the Samajwadi Party, three of its legislators quit the party on Saturday, alleging suffocation within the party, even as BJP president Amit Shah arrived here on a three-day visit.

The three lawmakers - Bukkal Nawaab, Yashwant Singh and Madhukar Jaitley -- all are members of the Upper House of the state Assembly.

Buqqal Nawaab was very close to former party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and owed his prominence to him until he decided to side with then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the turf war within the party earlier this year.

Yashwant Singh is a close aide of independent legislator from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias 'Raja Bhaiyya'. There is speculation that he may switch to the BJP.

Madhukar Jaitley, also a close aide of Mulayam Yadav, was a state minister level functionary in the Samajwadi Party government and was advisor to Akhilesh Yadav on externally aided projects, including Lucknow Metro.

Jaitley threw his weight behind Mulayam Yadav after his son overthrew him and took over as national president of the party. Jaitley was one of the few who openly rebuked and challenged Akhilesh Yadav in his hey days as Chief Minister and slammed him for the "shoddy treatment" meted out to the senior Yadav.