Former BSP Minister, others join Congress in run-up to Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls

Former Bahujan Samaj Party leaders, including a former State Minister and former Lok Sabha candidate, were among the dozens of political figures who joined the Uttar Pradesh Congress at its State headquarters on Sunday (September 27, 2026).

U.P. Congress leaders claimed this is evidence of the party gaining momentum and support from the public, adding that the days of the ruling BJP are numbered in the State.

Those who joined the party include Izhar-ul-Haq, who was a Minister in the BSP government in the 1990s; Naeem Ahmed, who contested the 1998 Lok Sabha election on a BSP ticket, polling over one lakh votes in Amethi; Madan Mohan Sharma, a former student leader and founder president of the Shri Banke Bihari Educational Society Agra; and Rashid Khan, a former block chief of Nanpara in Bahraich district.