Lucknow, May 10
Less than a week after he resigned from the Congress blaming the “coterie” around Rahul Gandhi, former union minister Akhilesh Das today joined the BSP, which declared him as party’s candidate for Lucknow Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming election.
Welcoming Das into the party fold, BSP supremo Mayawati said the veteran Congress leader would be party's nominee for Lucknow seat in next year’s Lok Sabha election.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister appointed 46-year-old Das as BSP's general secretary.
Besides Das, former MLC and AICC member Siraj Mehndi and his supporters also joined the BSP.
On Tuesday, Das resigned from the Congress and the Rajya Sabha blaming the “coterie” around Rahul Gandhi, a charge rubbished by the Congress.
Mayawati instructed Das to start party's preparations for the Parliamentary election in right earnest.
Speaking on the occasion, an emotional Das listed reasons for his quitting the Congress and said he would strive hard for improving the lot of the downtrodden. “I belong to a family of freedom fighters and had remained loyal to the Congress. But, I had to leave it due to various reasons.”
“Today, I want to assure you that I will remain with the BSP all though my life and work hard for improving the lot of the deprived,” Das said. He said he persistently raised the demand for special packages for Bundelkhand and Purvanchal regions in the Congress and this annoyed some party leaders.
“This turned out to be a big issue in the party with some Congress leaders becoming annoyed with me,”he said.
Showering praise on Mayawati, Das said she was the only leader worthy of occupying the post of the Prime Minister.
He also heaped praise on the BSP saying it was the only party which was working towards improving the lot of all sections of the society.
Meanwhile, Describing the resignation of Das from the party and his joining the BSP as part of a “big deal” facilitated by a bureaucrat, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) demanded inquiry into his recently acquired properties and other business
activities. — PTI
