LUCKNOW: With UP assembly elections due early next year, UP Congress heavyweight Nasimuddin Siddiqui quit the party and has purportedly made up his mind to join the SP. On Friday, after namaz, he met his supporters. For 20 days, Siddiqui toured different districts and held discussions with his supporters before deciding on strengthening Akhilesh Yadav’s hands.
Siddiqui, who started his politics from the BSP, was as a cabinet minister in Mayawati’s government. He is considered to have a political influence in western UP, especially among minority voters. Nasimuddin sent his resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after feeling neglected, as he claimed in his resignation letter.
Buzz of BJP-BSP tacit ties doing rounds
With signs of her closeness with the ruling party in UP since 2024 Lok Sabha polls when she had expelled her nephew Akash Anand from the party allegedly over his diatribe against the BJP in a rally in Sitapur, BSP chief Mayawati went a step ahead on October 9, 2025 by expressing her gratitude to CM Yogi Adityanath for maintaining the monuments built by her.
In turn, in January, Mayawati received a Type-8 bungalow in Delhi, whereas as a national party president she is eligible for a Type-6 or Type-7. There is a buzz as to whether something is brewing between the BJP and Mayawati. Is there a chance for a tacit understanding?
‘Nagin’ drama at play as woman disappears
It was an engrossing ‘nagin’ drama in Auriayya when a 24-year-old woman vanished into the unknown from her house, abandoning a 5-foot serpentine slough, fuelling whispers of a mystical metamorphosis. The dramatic turn of events unfolded in Singanpur village as Reena eloped with her lover leaving behind a trail of eerie clues — a 5-foot snake slough, bangles, rings, and clothes on her bed. Her family discovered the snake slough on her bed sparking claims that she had transformed into a ‘naagin’, prompting villagers to alert authorities. Locals gathered at the girl’s house until police traced her movement by tracking her mobile.
Namita bajpai
Our correspondent in Uttar Pradesh
namita.bajpai@newindianexpress.com