GORAKHPUR, Oct. 3 -- Disgruntled with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the denial of a party ticket for the upcoming MLC polls from the Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers' seat, Dr Sanjayan Tripathi, who resigned from the ruling party on Thursday, joined the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow on Friday. Election to 11 MLC seats in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to be held on October 23. Tripathi, who was among the contenders for the BJP ticket, is now set to challenge the party's nominee and three-time sitting MLC Dhruv Kumar Tripathi. Earlier, Dr Sanjayan publicly removed the BJP flag from his vehicle in Gorakhpur after the party announced Dhruv Kumar Tripathi as its candidate. He had earlier announced that he would contest the election as an independent candidate and criticised the ruling party for overlooking leaders who, he said, had worked for it for over two decades. "I have worked for the party with full dedication. I am deeply hurt by the decision," he said. Tripathi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2022 and had previously contested the Gorakhpur-Faizabad graduates' MLC election. He had also contested the seat as an independent on earlier occasions and finished second....