Lucknow: Janata Dal (Secular) leader Danish Ali on Saturday joined the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Ali joined the BSP in the presence of the party's national general secretary Satish Mishra at the BSP office here.
Ali had been considered the 'Delhi face' of the JD(S) for years and was considered close to party patriarch H D Deve Gowda. Ali had, in fact, been the face of the JD(S) in Delhi for over 22 years.
Ali had played a key role in stitching together the Congress-JD(S) tie-up in the wake of the fractured mandate in the Karnataka assembly polls last May. Ali was also involved in negotiations that resulted in the seat-sharing agreement between the Congress and JD(S) for the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. The Congress would contest 20 seats in Karnataka, while the JD(S) will contest from eight seats.
Some media reports indicate Ali will contest from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh on a BSP ticket, where the JD(S) has no presence. Ali was also said to be involved in sealing a tie-up between the JD(S) and BSP before the Karnataka elections. The BSP supported the formation of the Congress-JD(S) alliance, but its lone MLA quit as a minister in October.
Interestingly JD(S) sources insisted Ali had left the party on "good terms". They claimed Ali left the party as part of a "well-thought-out" plan as he had been keen on contesting in Uttar Pradesh, but could not do so on a Congress or JD(S) ticket. The sources described the exit of Ali as an "understanding" between BSP and JD(S).
Quoting Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, the Manorama News reported the move was made with the knowledge of Deve Gowda.
The BSP which scored a nil in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls is contesting the general elections this time in the state in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
The BJP-led NDA alliance had won 73 out of 80 seats in the state in 2014.
The seven phased Lok Sabha elections is scheduled from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
(With additional inputs from Prathima Nandakumar)
