Days after resigning from the Congress, former Unnao MP Annu Tandon on Monday joined the Samajwadi Party in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Ms. Tandon said she wanted to see Mr. Yadav as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2022. She said it was necessary to unite if “we have to push back communal forces.”
Explaining her decision to join Mr. Yadav, Ms. Tandon said, “Uttar Pradesh needs a progressive, visionary, young and educated leader.”
Ms. Tandon was elected MP from Unnao, adjoining Lucknow, in 2009. However, she lost in both the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Last Thursday she submitted her resignation to the Congress stating that there was a “misalignment” between her and its Uttar Pradesh unit.
In a resignation letter addressed to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Ms. Tandon said, “Unfortunately, there is a misalignment between the State leadership and me and I do not see their support in allowing me to work since the past several months.”
Talking to reporters, Ms. Tandon was dismissive of the Congress’s prospects in Uttar Pradesh under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s new team. The Congress’ State unit organisation formed by her “kisi layak nahi hai [is good for nothing],” she said.
