BJP MLA, six BSP legislators join SP

Lucknow, October 30

Seven legislators — one from the BJP and six suspended from the BSP — joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav, who hit out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and also claimed the BJP and the Congress “are the same”.

“The people of the state are so agitated that the BJP will be wiped out in the coming days and Bhajpa pariwar (BJP family) will appear as Bhaagta Pariwar (runaway family),” the SP chief said here while taunting the ruling party over its MLA Rakesh Rathore’s desertion and indicating that some others from the BJP were also in touch with him in the poll-bound state.

Those who joined the SP — BJP MLA from Sitapur Rakesh Rathore and BSP rebels Aslam Raini (Shrawati), Sushma Patel (Madiyahon), Aslam Ali (Hapur), Hakim Lal Bind (Handia), Mujtaba Siddiqui (Phoolpur) and Hargovind Bhargava (Sidhauli) — expressed their resolve to make Akhilesh the CM again in the coming elections.

Yadav claimed that the BJP would not get enough ticket aspirants “even if it declares 403 chief ministers” as the party is staring at defeat in the Assembly polls.

Earlier this year, an audio clip purportedly of Rathore criticising PM Narendra Modi for asking people to clap and clang bells and plates during the pandemic had gone viral. — PTI