No dearth of leaders in SP: Shivpal Yadav on Sompal

LUCKNOW: Unfazed by SP Jat leader refusing to contest Lok Sabha polls from Baghpat under the Samajwadi Party's banner, SP leader Shivpal Yadav today said there is no dearth of members in the party to fight elections.

"There is no dearth of leaders in the party to contest elections," Yadav said.

Jat leader Sompal Shastri, nominated by SP as its Lok Sabha election candidate from Baghpat constituency, yesterday refused to contest the polls under SP banner, accusing the party of failing to control violence in Muzaffarnagar.

Meanwhile, former MLA Imran Masood joined the party today in the presence of Yadav.

Masood, who left Congress in March, is a nephew of Congress working committee member Rashid Masood.

Welcoming him in the party, Shivpal said his joining would strengthen the party in western UP, especially in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Haridwar.