Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has deferred the decision on the third party candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled on June 10.

Former MP from Kannauj and Akhilesh' wife Dimple Yadav was scheduled to file her papers as the third SP candidate on Wednesday, but the move was stalled at the eleventh hour.

SP sources said that Akhilesh Yadav was weighing options and might nominate Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary as the third candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls.

The RLD is an ally of Samajwadi Party and the two parties joined hands to contest the last assembly poll. The SP had earlier indicated that the party would not send Jayant Chaudhary to the Rajya Sabha on its ticket.

Sources said that Akhilesh had promised to send Jayant Chaudhary to the Rajya Sabha but wanted him in the upper House under his party's banner. Chaudhary however insisted on contesting the election as his own party (RLD) candidate with support from Samajwadi Party.

"The third candidate will be declared soon. You all will come to know about it" Akhilesh Yadav told news persons in Lucknow.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Congress veteran and Independent candidate Kapil Sibal backed by Samajwadi Party and Javed Ali Khan of SP filed their papers.

The SP can send three candidates to the Rajya Sabha on the basis of its and its allies’ strength of 125 MLAs in UP assembly.

The SP move to support Sibal is seen as a quid pro quo after his efforts as party MP Mohammad Azam Khan's lawyer.

The Rajya Sabha elections next month will include 11 seats from Uttar Pradesh. The last date for filing nomination papers is May 31 and scrutiny will be held on June 10. If only 11 candidates file papers then all will be declared elected unopposed, otherwise polling will be held on June 10.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which recently returned to power in the politically crucial state with a massive win, is set to maintain its dominance in the upper  House of Parliament by occupying around 80 per cent of the total seats.

UP sends 31 MPs to Rajya Sabha and 11 of them are set to retire on July 4. This includes five from BJP, three from SP, two from BSP and one from Congress. At present, the BJP has a strength of 22, Samajwadi Party five,  BSP three and Congress one in the Rajya Sabha from UP.

The BJP has 255 members in the Uttar Pradesh assembly and can send eight members to the Rajya Sabha.