Maya confidant & former UP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui joins SP

Lucknow: A close confidant of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati for years, who joined the Congress party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Naseemuddin Siddiqui joined the Samajwadi Party on Sunday along with a host of former MLAs and senior leaders.SP national president Akhilesh Yadav accompanied Siddiqui to the press conference at party headquarters where he inducted him and other leaders into the party fold. Welcoming them, Akhilesh described their induction into SP as a "big" development which will further strengthen the PDA's march to victory in the 2027 Assembly polls. "Bahujan Samaj aur Samajwadi Party ka rishta gehra hota ja raha hai (The bond between members of the Bahujan Samaj and the Samajwadi Party is getting stronger)," Akhilesh said.A founding member of the BSP and four-time minister in the Mayawati cabinet, Naseemuddin (66) had quit Congress recently accusing the party of neglect. Naseeemuddin's wife also joined the party along with other leaders."I have a long-standing relationship with Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav and have great respect for him and will also follow his leadership. There are a host of senior leaders in SP and we must work together to add more strength to the party," Naseemuddin said.Apart from Naseemuddin, former MLA from Pratapgarh Rajkumar, ex-MLA from Deoria Dinanath Kushwaha, former BSP minister Anees Ahmed alias Phool Babu and Danish Khan also joined SP. A host of women leaders, including Rachna Pal, Husna Siddiqui, Poonam Pal, and Alka also joined the party.During his stint in BSP that spread across decades, Naseemuddin was propped up as the Muslim face of the party.In the political circles, Naseemuddin quitting the Congress to join SP has created quite some curiosity as both Congress and SP happen to be the key constituents of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh. Though senior leaders in Congress did try to convince Naseemuddin to shelve his decision of leaving the party for some time promising him a more visible participation in the days to come, the move did not work.In his address, Naseemuddin invoked socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia and said that he had always maintained high regards for SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav irrespective of their diverse political affiliations.A native of Banda district, Naseemuddin walked into the state assembly in 1991 representing the people of his home district. Having been with Mayawati since her inception in politics, Naseemuddin was seen as the most powerful Muslim face in the Mayawati government's last stint starting 2007. However, BSP's political downfall that followed thereafter saw many top BSP leaders switch loyalties and Naseemuddin was no exception.