Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on August 14 expelled Prayagraj (West) MLA Pooja Pal the widow of slain BSP MLA Raju Pal just hours after she publicly thanked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for delivering justice in her husband’s high-profile murder case.
The official expulsion order accused Pooja Pal of “anti-party activities and indiscipline,” alleging that despite prior warnings she continued actions that caused “great damage to the party.” But the timing leaves no ambiguity her removal came almost immediately after she praised Yogi’s zero-tolerance policy for eliminating dreaded mafia don Atiq Ahmed, the man convicted of orchestrating her husband’s assassination in 2005.
‘I am a victim first, an MLA later’
Speaking to the media after her expulsion, Pooja Pal remained unapologetic and doubled down on her statement in the Assembly.
“Perhaps you could not hear the women in Prayagraj who were even more worried than me. But I am their voice, I have been elected as an MLA and sent to the Assembly. I am the voice of mothers and sisters who have lost their loved ones. They have sent me here. All people in Prayagraj who were disturbed due to Atiq Ahmed have been given justice by the CM, not just to Pooja Pal. I have been saying this from day one, even when I was in the party. I have been expelled only today. I stand by my statement even today,” she said.
#WATCH | Expelled SP MLA Pooja Pal says, "…Perhaps you could not hear the women in Prayagraj who were even more worried than me. But I am their voice, I have been elected as an MLA and sent to the Assembly. I am the voice of mothers and sisters who have lost their loved ones.… https://t.co/cnE7hzb0Pe pic.twitter.com/8MaF0iWtZR
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2025
“I became an MLA later but I am a victim woman first, a wife first. We could not stand the incident that occurred with us… They speak of PDA. I too belong to a backward community, I was troubled, I stepped out of my house because my husband was killed in broad daylight. I was a newly-wed bride and there was nobody at my home… They have proven that they are completely against PDA.”
The controversy erupted during the 24-hour marathon debate on Vision Document 2047 in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Taking the floor, Pooja Pal thanked CM Yogi Adityanath for what she described as decisive action against criminals who had terrorised Prayagraj for decades.
#WATCH | Lucknow, UP | Addressing during the 24-hour marathon discussion on 'Vision Document 2047' in the UP Assembly, Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal says, "… Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave justice to many women like me by bringing in policies such as zero tolerance that… pic.twitter.com/fN0Agp2nka
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2025
“Everyone knows who murdered my husband. The CM has given justice to many women in Prayagraj through policies like zero tolerance, which led to the elimination of criminals like Atiq Ahmed. My husband’s killer was ‘mitti mein milaya’ by the CM. When I began to lose strength in this fight, CM Yogi Adityanath gave me justice,” she declared, breaking the usual opposition discipline of never praising the ruling BJP government.
Within hours of her remarks, the hammer fell. An official order signed by Akhilesh Yadav accused Pooja Pal of repeated “anti-party conduct” despite warnings, claiming her actions had caused “great damage to the party.” The timing leaves little doubt her “crime” was speaking the truth about SP’s historic failure to rein in gangsters like Atiq Ahmed.
#BREAKING | Samajwadi Party expels MLA Pooja Pal over “anti-party activities and indiscipline” after she publicly thanked UP CM Yogi Adityanath for giving her justice.
During the 24-hour marathon discussion on Vision Document 2047 in the UP Assembly, Pooja Pal said CM Yogi’s… pic.twitter.com/8LBQOhCqiV
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) August 14, 2025
For a party repeatedly accused of sheltering criminals and giving them political platforms, any endorsement of Yogi’s policies from within its benches is political heresy.
Raju Pal’s killing in January 2005 was a landmark case in the criminal-politics nexus of UP. After defeating Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf in a by-election, the newly-elected BSP MLA was gunned down in broad daylight in Allahabad. For years, justice remained elusive as Atiq Ahmed — a known strongman with political clout — evaded full legal closure.
It was only under Yogi Adityanath’s government that Atiq was convicted. In April 2023, while in police custody for another case, Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead at close range by three assailants posing as journalists outside Prayagraj’s Colvin Hospital. Earlier that same day, Atiq’s son Asad was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi.
