Samajwadi Party leader quits

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh  minister Naresh Agarwal quit the party Saturday alleging it was no longer led by Mulayam Singh Yadav but by its general secretary Amar Singh.

Agarwal told reporters that he "was feeling strangulated in the party" because it was no longer wedded to its socialist credentials and had become an "elitist party of film stars and power brokers".

He claimed all the original socialist leaders in the party were feeling suffocated with their shrinking role, thanks to a new "star culture" ushered in by Amar Singh.

Amid rumours that the politician from Hardoi district may join the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), he remained non-committal about his future plans.

He said: "My supporters from far and wide would be coming to Lucknow and I would take a final decision after consulting them."