LUCKNOW, Feb. 14 -- A year before of the 2027 assembly elections, former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Nasimuddin Siddiqui, who quit the Congress on January 24, will join the Samajwadi Party (SP) along with 15 former ministers, ex-MLAs and a large number of supporters. The induction, scheduled for February 15, is being described as one of the biggest political joinings in UP in the run-up to the polls. Siddiqui's entry will be a significant boost for the SP before the electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh. "I will join the SP on Sunday," said Siddiqui who met SP leaders during the day. "I have no grudge with anyone even in Congress. I just wanted to work and found the opportunity is not possible in the Congress," he said. Both the Congress and the SP are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc. With the prominent Muslim leader leaving the party, the move is being seen as a political setback for the Congress, which has in the past claimed that its presence in an alliance ensures consolidation of Muslim votes. Asked about his role in the SP, Siddiqui, a former minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party government, said, "Now, it is up to the SP leadership to decide. I am joining with 100 more on the day that includes over a dozen former MLAs." Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakrul Hasan Chand confirmed that Siddiqui, former BSP minister Anis Mohd alias Phool Babu, and a former Apna Dal state office bearer will join the SP in the presence of Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on February 15. UP Congress incharge Avinash Pandey said, "He is a senior leader with a long and effective political career and I wish him good luck. We tried to stop him. We are working and will continue to work for the people"....