'Despite Priyanka's hard work, Congress is weak': Imran Masood to join SP

In a blow to the Congress ahead of assembly polls, Imran Masood, an influential leader in western Uttar Pradesh, has indicated he would switch over to the Samajwadi Party.

Masood had courted controversy in 2014 when he threatened to kill Narendra Modi when the BJP leader was campaigning to be prime minister. Masood was arrested for the comments. Despite the publicity from the controversy, Masood has had little luck in the elections, losing from Saharanpur in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Masood had announced on Sunday that he would meet his supporters at his home in Saharanpur on Monday to discuss his shift to the Samajwadi Party and would also seek an appointment with Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.

Masood was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, “Under the prevailing political conditions, we need to support the SP to prevent the division of votes of likeminded people and provide good governance in Uttar Pradesh to put it on the path of development and progress.”

He credited Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi with working hard in Uttar Pradesh. “In spite of the hard work of Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress is weak in UP, Imran Masood said, adding that he had expressed similar views at party meetings,” Hindustan Times reported.

He claimed the Congress had given him “honour and respect”, but “it is need of the hour to work together to support a similar ideology to prevent the division of votes of youths, women and farmers who have similar thinking,” Hindustan Times reported.

A Samajwadi Party leader described the news of Masood's impending departure from the Congress as a sign of confidence in the regional party. “Isn’t this… trend of movement from all parties to the SP enough to show who is coming to power? Feeling the pulse of the voters, most of the disgruntled leaders of the BSP, the Congress, and the BJP are joining our party. There must be a strong wave in favour of the SP, and that is why leaders from other parties are trusting the visionary leadership of Akhilesh Yadav,” Abdul Hafiz Gandhi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Masood had been arguing for a tie-up between the Congress and Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Assembly polls. “First, we have to think are we [Congress] capable of fighting alone against BJP in Uttar Pradesh and the answer is 'no'. Then, definitely, we should ally with the Samajwadi Party to defeat BJP. Honestly, if we have to fight in Uttar Pradesh, then we have to fight together,” Masood was quoted as saying in 2021 by Times Now.

Masood had won from the Muzaffarabad assembly seat in 2007 as an independent. He fought from Nakur in the 2012 assembly polls on a Congress ticket and lost. He joined the SP in 2013, only to return to the Congress the following year.