Veteran SP leader Ravi Verma set to join Congress on Monday

Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: Former national general secretary of Samajwadi Party and three-term parliamentarian Ravi Verma who resigned from Akhilesh Yadav-run party earlier this week is set to join the Congress on Monday.

“I have worked for Samajwadi Party for almost 25 years…In the last few years, new people started joining the party who directly met Akhilesh Yadav and got posts in the party but they never worked on the polling strategy in rural areas…meanwhile, syndicates of contractors and corrupt officials started to form. In the party, no one had time to work for the people…,” Verma told media

“All new members who joined the party wanted to go to Akhilesh Yadav and become millionaires overnight…When the situation started deteriorating, I decided to leave the party and join Congress…,” he said, adding “I will be joining Congress tomorrow.”

On a comparison between Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi, the veteran politician said he would not draw a comparison between the two leaders, but noted that people should follow Rahul and “idolise him”.

On Friday, in his resignation letter addressed to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Verma wrote he found himself unable to work for the Samajwadi Party due to an “adverse internal party atmosphere” in Lakhimpur Kheri. So he said he was resigning from the primary membership of the party.