Senior BJP leader Ashok Pradhan Tuesday quit the party and joined the Samajwadi Party, alleging that the BJP had deviated from the path laid by its founders.
Stating that senior leaders like former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani were sidelined within the Bharatiya Janata Party, Pradhan said he found himself "at home with the SP".
Pradhan, who represented the Khurja Lok Sabha constituency (now Noida/Gautam Buddh Nagar) four times, also alleged that the BJP's affairs were now being dictated by a coterie of new leaders.
The former BJP national secretary, considered close to Advani, has been at daggers drawn with former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh.
He was also denied a Lok Sabha ticket this time and speculation was rife that he would quit the party.
He was welcomed to the Samajwadi Party by its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and designated national general secretary.
