Barabanki, Jan. 31 -- Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Barabanki Municipal Council Chairman, Hafeez Bharti, quit the SP and joined Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), calling it a "homecoming."Hafeez Bharti's exit is being seen as a major setback for SP chief Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the upcoming elections in Barabanki.
Accompanied by hundreds of his supporters, Bharti met BSP supremo Mayawati in Lucknow. Following the meeting, BSP state president Vishwanath Pal formally inducted him into the party, sources said today.
Hafeez Bharti has earlier served as the Chairman of the Barabanki Municipal Council and is considered to have strong influence within the minority community in the region. He had also contested as an MLC can...