SP founding member, former BJP MLA join Congress in Lucknow

Founding member of the Samajwadi Party (SP) Chandra Prakash Rai and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Sitapur, Rakesh Rathore joined the Congress in Lucknow on Thursday.

Congress leaders that included the party’s State unit chief Brijlal Khabri, were present.

Mr. Rai, who was accorded ministerial status during the SP government, alleged the SP had deviated from its path of socialism and today there was no socialism in the party. “I was attached to the ideology of socialism since childhood, but today in the Samajwadi Party, neither socialism nor socialist ideology is left,” said Mr. Rai.

Mr. Rai, a close confidant of the SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, added it was only the Congress party which could save the country from dictatorial tendencies, and only its leader Rahul Gandhi was fighting the battle against such divisive forces honestly.

The one and only

“Madhu Limaye, a senior leader of the country and the pioneer of socialism, warned the whole country in his last article that we have to strengthen the Congress to stop the fascist forces; at present there is only one party in this country i.e. the Congress and only one leader Rahul Gandhi who is fighting against this fascism. I am joining the party after getting influenced by him (Rahul Gandhi) and will further work to strengthen the Congress to bring it to power in 2024,” added Mr. Rai.

Mr. Rathore, a former BJP MLA between 2017-2022, aired similar sentiments and called the Uttar Pradesh government a failure on all fronts. “The BJP is no longer a party of the poor. All the policies of the BJP are against the common man. Even after being in the party, I kept raising my voice for the common man. In today’s time, if there is one person who is fighting for the people of India, that is Rahul Gandhi. We must give him strength. When the country and the Constitution will be saved, only then we will be saved,” said Mr. Rathore.