Uttar Pradesh polls: Former Yogi minister Dara Singh Chauhan now in Akhilesh camp

UP ex-minister Dara Singh Chauhan (left) joins SP, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

Former Uttar Pradesh minister and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan joined the Samajwadi Party on Sunday, days after he resigned from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet ahead of the assembly polls.

Besides Chauhan, Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA from Vishvanathganj Assembly constituency in Pratapgarh district R K Verma too joined the Akhilesh Yadav-led party which has emerged as the main challenger to the BJP in the state.

Apna Dal (Sonelal) is an ally of the BJP. On Friday, former ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini, five BJP MLAs and one from the Apna Dal (Sonelal) had crossed over to the Samajwadi Party.

While joining the Samajwadi Party on Sunday, Chauhan said the BJP did not keep its ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas' promise. Only a handful benefited, he said. Terming the Samajwadi Party as his "old home", he said, "We will change the politics of Uttar Pradesh, and make Akhilesh Yadav the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh once again."

Kanpur ex-police chief joins BJP

Lucknow: Former Kanpur police commissioner, Aseem Arun, on Sunday joined the BJP. He is likely to contest from Kannauj. The 1994-batch IPS officer was granted VRS earlier this month.

Punjab CM's brother goes independent

Chandigarh: Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's younger brother, Manohar Singh, said on Sunday that he would contest as an independent candidate in the upcoming polls. He has been denied a Congress ticket apparently due to the party's one family, one ticket rule.

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