Expelled Bahujan Samaj Party leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui, once a close aide of BSP chief Mayawati, on Thursday joined the Congress along with his supporters at the party headquarters.
Mr. Siddiqui joined the party along with his supporters, including former MLAs and Ministers in the erstwhile Mayawati government. Three former Ministers, including O.P. Singh and Liyaqat Ali and several ex-MLAs also joined the party.
He joined in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar and All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi. His outfit, Rashtriya Bahujan Morcha, that he floated after being expelled from the BSP, was also merged with the Congress.
“This gives us an idea about the changing circumstances. So many leaders want to join and work with our new president Rahul Gandhi. I am sure it won’t stop with this and the Congress would become the strongest party in the country,” said Mr. Azad.
Mr. Siddiqui, once the Muslim face for the BSP, was expelled in May last year for anti-party activities soon after the party’s debacle in the 2017 Assembly polls. The parting was particularly bitter as he had accused the BSP supremo of demanding money and played out audio tapes as ‘proof’.
