Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh minister and ex-Congress leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui on Sunday joined the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party in Lucknow, saying he respects the party chief immensely and will work to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots.
"I have old relations with Akhilesh"
Siddiqui, who was earlier associated with the Bahujan Samaj Party and later joined the Congress, formally joined the Samajwadi Party in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav. He said he shared old ties with Yadav and would work under his guidance along with other senior leaders.
“I have old relations with Akhilesh Yadav. I respect him immensely. We will follow his directions. There are many senior leaders in the party. We have to strengthen the party by working shoulder to shoulder with them. If the party is strong, then we are strong. If we are strong, then the state is strong and if the state is strong, then society is strong,” Siddiqui told reporters.
Along with Siddiqui, former BSP leader Anees Ahmad Khan and former Apna Dal state president S Raj Kumar Pal also joined the Samajwadi Party.
Resigned from Congress last month
Siddiqui had resigned from all positions in the Congress last month, saying he had been unable to work at the grassroots level for the past eight years. He said he continues to respect senior Congress leaders but felt sidelined in organisational work.
“I have no resentment towards anyone. I respect Kharge ji, Rahul ji, Priyanka ji and Sonia ji and I will continue to respect them. There was no work for me there. I am a grassroots-level person. For eight years, I could not work on the ground. I have never been a high-profile leader and I am not one now. I want to work at the ground level and that is why I left the Congress,” Siddiqui said.
He also criticised the roles he was given in the Congress, saying positions such as media department chairman or committee member did not amount to grassroots work. “I told the leaders that I am a man of the organisation. There are many things which cannot be said,” he added.
The joining of Siddiqui and other leaders is seen as part of the Samajwadi Party’s ongoing efforts to expand its social base and organisational strength ahead of upcoming political battles in Uttar Pradesh.
