SP leader Bal Kunwar Patel joins Congress, to contest from Banda seat

Former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Mirzapur, Bal Kunwar Patel, on Friday joined the Congress in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar and the party's western Uttar Pradesh in-charge Jyotiraditya Scindia were also present on the occasion.

Mr Patel, who was a prominent face for the SP from the Kurmi community, will contest polls from the Banda Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming polls.

Mr Patel was elected as a Member of Parliament on an SP ticket from Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat in 2009. In 2014, the party changed his constituency from Mirzapur to Banda, where he lost by a narrow margin.

There are 80 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Uttar Pradesh, polling for which will be held across all seven phases starting April 11.

-ANI