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Former Uttar Pradesh minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui quits Congress
Naseemuddin Siddiqui, who was expelled from the BSP in 2017 for alleged anti-party activities, joined the Congress in February 2018
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Former Uttar Pradesh minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui quit the Congress on Saturday along with 72 supporters, saying he was unable to work as per his wishes during his eight years in the party.
“No grudges against Rahul Gandhi and state [Congress] president Ajay Rai, who is like my brother,” Siddiqui said in a statement. He added that he joined the Congress to fight casteism and communalism. Siddiqui said he would decide on his next move in consultation with his supporters. “I have not thought of joining any party as of now.”
Siddiqui is believed to have been unhappy with the Congress leadership. On January 20, Siddiqui could not meet Rahul Gandhi despite rushing to the Lucknow airport from Moradabad to meet him while the latter was en route to his constituency of Rae Bareli.
Siddiqui is likely to form a new political front with Parliament member Chandrashekhar Azad of the Azad Samaj Party (ASP). He quit the Congress a day before Azad was due to address an ASP rally in Agra on Sunday.
ASP state unit chief Sunil Kumar Chittaur said he would welcome Siddiqui, but the party’s national leadership will decide on his entry.
Siddiqui began his political career with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1988. He was elected to the assembly in 1991 on a BSP ticket. A grassroots leader, he served as a Cabinet minister in the BSP government and was said to be one of the closest aides to the then chief minister, Mayawati. Siddiqui, who was expelled from the BSP in 2017 for alleged anti-party activities, joined the Congress in February 2018.
Siddiqui’s resignation coincided with the launch of Congress’s Samvidhan Samvad Mahapanchayat, a series of 30 conventions across the state to raise issues such as Special Intensive Reservation of the electoral roll.
Assembly polls are due in the state in March-April 2027. The BJP swept back to power in the state, winning 312 out of 403 assembly seats in 2022. In the 2024 national polls, the BJP’s seats in Uttar Pradesh fell from 62 out of 80 in 2019 to 33, as the party’s overall tally dropped below the majority mark in Parliament. The SP bagged 37 seats, up from 32, and the Congress increased its count to six seats from one. In 2014, the BJP won 71 seats.
