NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday dismissed Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar’s claim that his party was headed for a major split, accusing the BJP of having a history of engineering defections in opposition parties.Responding to Rajbhar’s “now it is UP’s turn” remarks, Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe saying, “Dana aur gana kab tak chalega yeh afsana (How long will this story of inducements and praise continue?).”The Samajwadi Party president said the BJP had repeatedly used splits and defections as a political strategy.“The BJP has done this before. It engineered splits in several parties. It poached Samajwadi Party MLAs, MLCs and even leaders who went to the Rajya Sabha. There are always people driven by greed and internal pulls, but the Samajwadi Party is fully prepared to face such challenges,” he said.Akhilesh maintained that despite political ups and downs, the SP remained a strong party.“The Samajwadi Party is a strong organisation. Like every political party, it has seen ups and downs in its journey, but we are prepared to challenge the BJP,” he said.His remarks came hours after Rajbhar claimed that the SP was on the verge of a “major split” and alleged that several party leaders were ready to join the BJP.In a post on X, Rajbhar claimed that senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav had submitted a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, though he offered no evidence or details about the alleged communication.Rajbhar also alleged that investigations into the alleged mining and Gomti Riverfront scams had put the SP under pressure and claimed that “the entire SP is ready to join the BJP.”The SP rejected the suggestion of any internal crisis, with party MP Rajeev Rai mocking Rajbhar’s remarks.“I had said during the Lok Sabha elections in Ghosi that there is a disease called ‘bakbak-itis’ (excessive chatter). If there is no cure for it, are we responsible? Why do you take all three of them (father and sons) so seriously? This disease also spreads pollution,” Rai said.The exchange comes as political parties begin positioning themselves for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, with both the BJP-led NDA and the opposition SP sharpening their attacks.