Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kesrinath Tripathi on Saturday night accorded recognition to the 37-member breakaway Bahujan Samaj Party group and allowed its merger with the Samajwadi Party.

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With the merger of the rebels, who formed the Loktantrik BSP, headed by Rajendra Singh Rana, the strength of the Samajwadi Party has gone up to 181 in the 403-member House.

The speaker's decision was announced by his principal secretary R P Pandey.

He said the speaker had reserved his ruling on the objections raised by BSP legislature party leader Swami Prasad Maurya. Maurya had requested Tripathi to hear the BSP's viewpoint before granting recognition to the LBSP.

Pandey did not say anything on the six other BSP deserters.