By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net
Lucknow: Former education minister and president of National Lokhind Party (NLHP). Dr Masood Ahmed joined Samajwadi Party (SP) amidst presence of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at party headquarters in Lucknow on Sunday.
Mulayam welcomed Dr Masood in the party hailing him as a man of principles but Dr Masood’s supporters who had arrived along with him remained apprehensive about the developments. “We were informed by Dr Masood that we are coming to Lucknow to have talks with Mulayam for election alliance. But here Dr Masood joined SP and even merged the NLHP with them. We are against his decision and will not be part of his commitment,” said Fareed Ahmed Ghazi, the national spokesperson of NLHP.
Ghazi was accompanied by several other post-holders of NLHP who also decried Dr Masood’s decision to join SP. “We can support SP but joining the party means losing out our identity which is not acceptable,” said another worker from Deoria.
Earlier, Mulayam termed the development as big achievement with the prized catch of Dr Masood. “We welcome him as he had joined in the days of ‘sangharsh’. He has remained committed to his principles even if he was alone in political scene,” said Mulayam.
Dr Masood Ahmed had won the 1993 assebly election from Tanda constituency on BSP ticket. He had contested the election as SP-BSP combine candidate and later became education minister under Mulayam Singh Yadav. However he lost favour with BSP supremo Mayawati who not only expelled him from the party but he was removed from minister-ship and had to vacate the minister’s bunglow in Lucknow. Later, he formed National Loktantrik Party along with another legislator Arshad Khan but soon fell apart and floated his own National Lokhind Party.