Lucknow, Jan 3 (IANS): Former Bahujan Samaj Party MP Rakesh Pandey -- father of BSP leader in Lok Sabha, Ritesh Pandey -- joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday, along with his supporters.

BJP MLA Madhuri Varma also joined the SP on Monday with her followers. Former BJP legislators Brijesh Mishra Saurabh and Kanti Singh were among others who crossed over to the SP.

Welcoming the BSP and BJP leaders into his party fold, Akhilesh said that their presence would strengthen his party.

The SP leader reiterated that he would provide 300 units of power free if he came to power.

"Ever since I announced free units, the BJP has been suffering from shocks. The BJP has done nothing to improve generation and transmission of power in the state," he said.

Akhilesh said that the BJP was an expert in making false claims and speaking lies. "The people have decided to remove such liars from power," he added.

Referring to the BJP allegation that the SP was a party of criminals, Akhilesh said, "As per the ADR report, the maximum number of leaders with criminal antecedents are in the BJP. Actually, the BJP has a new washing machine that all criminals get whitewashed when they join their party."

He further said that Yogi Adityanath also had criminal cases registered against him when he became the chief minister.