Faisal Fareed
Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Dec 12: It was a double shock for Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday. The party which is hoping to revive its fortune in the state and form the next government after elections received a jolt when its senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Rasheed Masood left the party to join Congress.

Another shock was in store for the party when a group of Muslim workers protested against the cancellation of ticket of a Muslim youth Yameen Khan from Lucknow (north). Yameen was replaced by an IIM-A professor Abhishek Mishra on Saturday.

Masood blamed Azam Khan for his quitting the party. He also announced that he will resign from the Rajya Sabha membership of the party. Masood claimed: "Mulayam has lost grip over the party and it is Azam Khan who is calling the shots and thus good leaders are being ignored."

Masood is part of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) pact with Congress. Ajit Singh of RLD is likely to get a cabinet berth while Masood after his joining will also join the cabinet. He holds considerable sway over Muslims in western region of the state.

In the second development, hundreds of Muslims workers reached SP supremo Mulayam Singh's residence at Vikramaditya Marg protesting against denial of ticket of Yameen. When things got worse, Akhilesh Yadav the SP state chief asked them to come to party office. Amidst the sloganeering Akhilesh assured that he will meet them personally on December 15 to take a final decision.

SP banks of Muslim votes for its survival in the elections. However, such developments leading to alienation of Muslims will be detrimental to its poll prospects.