SP rebel leaders join BSP

Naresh Agarwal, who defected from  Samajwadi Party, on Wednesday joined the BSP which declared him as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Farrukhabad seat, a day after another SP leader Dhaniram Verma was inducted into Mayawati-led party.

Agarwal, who was transport minister in the erstwhile Mulayam Singh Yadav government, was inducted into the party by chief minister Mayawati.

He had quit SP last week.

Mayawati named Agarwal as the party's national general secretary and declared him as the BSP nominee from Farrukhabad LS constituency.

Verma, a former state Vidhan Sabha speaker, joined BSP in Kannauj yesterday in the presence of state PWD minister Nasimuddin Siddiqui. BSP has declared Verma's son Mahesh as a party nominee for Lok Sabha polls from Kannauj seat.