LUCKNOW, Feb. 16 -- Ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, senior leader and former BSP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Lucknow on Sunday, in a move seen as both a boost for the SP and a setback for the Congress, which he quit on January 24. Former BSP minister Anis Ahmad Khan (Phool Babu) also joined the SP, along with former Pratapgarh Sadar MLA and Apna Dal (S) ex-state president Rajkumar Pal, former Deoria MLA Dinanath Kushwaha, former AIMIM candidate from Kannauj Dr Danish Khan and several others. Once considered Mayawati's right-hand man, Siddiqui had joined the Congress in 2018 after being expelled from the BSP in 2017 for alleged anti-party activities. Khan had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Pilibhit on a BSP ticket but lost to BJP candidate Jitin Prasada. The two leaders had a strained relationship during their BSP days. Khan had alleged that Siddiqui had him removed from the party twice as he did not want any Muslim leader to rise within the organisation. Asked whether the new entrants would fill the political void created by the imprisonment of senior SP leader Azam Khan, SP president Akhilesh Yadav avoided a direct reply. "Azam Khan ji is our respected leader. We believe the cases against him are false and want him to be released soon, though it appears unlikely under the present BJP government," he said. Speaking to reporters, Anis Ahmad Khan said he was impressed by Yadav's "inclusive vision". "If the state's leadership is to be placed in the right hands, it should be given to Akhilesh ji," he said. Siddiqui claimed that 15,718 people from the BSP, BJP and Apna Dal (S) were joining the SP along with him. "We will work in coordination with senior party leaders. Our aim is to make Akhilesh Yadav the next chief minister," he said. Welcoming the new members, Yadav said more people from the "Bahujan Samaj" were expressing faith in the SP's PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) ideology. "People from different political backgrounds are coming together. Everyone joining today will receive proper respect in the party," he said....