Keen to play an important role in the national front, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav has decided to retain the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and resign from the Bharthana Assembly seat. This decision was taken in the meeting of the SP legislators at the party headquarters on Monday.

Yadav's younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is a legislator from Jaswant Nagar Assembly constituency in Etawah district, is now set to replace him as the Leader of Opposition.

Former Speaker of the state Assembly and former minister Waqar Ahmed Shah, Bhariach legislator, will be the new deputy leader of the party in the Assembly. Shah will replace Azam Khan, who was expelled from the party on Sunday for six years for indulging in anti-party activities.

Ambika Chowdhary, chief whip of the SP in the Assembly, moved the proposal for electing Shivpal Singh Yadav as the leader of the party in the Assembly and also the Leader of Opposition. The proposal was adopted by the House unanimously.

Later in his brief address to party legislators, Yadav expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the party in the Lok Sabha polls. Announcing to soon launch a decisive struggle for dislodging the corrupt BSP government in the state, the SP chief said the support base of the party among the masses remained intact and that the party MLAs, leaders and the cadres should remain in touch with the electorate.

In the meanwhile, the party also dissolved the city and district units in 25 districts where the party candidates had fared poorly in the Lok Sabha polls.