Rajya Sabha Polls: Meet Sanjay Seth, BJP's strategy ace who nixed SP dreams

Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya with Sanjay Seth. (File photo)

The Samajwadi Party (SP) on February 27 suffered a major setback in the Rajya Sabha elections for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in eight of them. Out of its three candidates, the SP only managed to secure seats for two in the Upper House. Notably, among those who benefited from cross-voting within the SP was Sanjay Seth—the BJP’s eighth candidate.

Voting took place from 9 am to 4 pm for the 10 vacant seats from Uttar Pradesh. The eight victorious candidates from the saffron party are RPN Singh, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Tejveer Singh, Sangeeta Balwant, Sadhana Singh, Amarpal Maurya, Naveen Jain, and Sanjay Seth.

Sanjay Seth is a real estate developer hailing from Lucknow, who initially started his career with the SP. In 1985, he founded SAS Hotels and Properties Private Limited, later rebranded as the Shalimar Corporation. His company was involved in various projects, including the development of the Dr BR Ambedkar Gomti Vihar Park (Part-1 and Part-2), the construction of a multi-level parking facility in Hazratganj, and another parking lot in Vridawan colony near the Rae Bareli Road during the BSP regime from 2007 to 2012.

The real estate tycoon maintained a close association with the SP's founder, Mulayam Singh. In 2015, he was nominated by the SP as a candidate for Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). However, his nomination faced rejection by the then Uttar Pradesh Governor, Ram Naik. Consequently, the SP founder appointed him to the Rajya Sabha.

In 2016, ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections, Akhilesh released his own list of 235 candidates, which included individuals not featured in the compilation issued by Mulayam just a day earlier.

In response, Mulayam expelled Akhilesh from the party for six years, citing "gross indiscipline" as the reason for his decision. However, within three days of this expulsion, the SP national executive convened and unanimously elected Akhilesh as the party's national president, highlighting the widening rift within the party.

Amid the internal turmoil within the SP, Seth forged a closer bond with Akhilesh Yadav and was duly rewarded for his loyalty. He was promoted to the position of the party’s national treasurer following Akhilesh's assumption of the party leadership.

Additionally, Seth was reportedly instrumental in facilitating the alliance between the BSP and the SP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The two parties collaborated as part of a Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Uttar Pradesh for the general elections.

However, in 2019, Seth resigned from the Rajya Sabha before joining the BJP. Following his switch in allegiance, the BJP appointed him back to the Rajya Sabha to fill the vacant seat left by Seth's resignation.

After serving as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2016 to 2022, Seth found himself not renominated by the BJP for another term following the conclusion of his tenure in 2022. However, in a surprising turn of events during the 2024 elections, the BJP opted to give Seth another chance. Reports suggest that Seth provided assurances to the BJP leadership regarding his ability to mobilise votes in his favour. Consequently, the party selected him as its eighth candidate for the upper House elections.

Seth has been actively involved in politics alongside his business career, maintaining strong ties with the SP first family. He has had close connections with SP founder late Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mulayam's son Prateek Yadav, who is the step-brother of Akhilesh.