Lucknow, Oct 1 (PTI) As the Congress looks to regain lost ground in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party received a jolt on Friday with its state unit vice-president Gayadeen Anuragi switching over to the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Anuragi joined the SP in the presence of its national president Akhilesh Yadav at a press conference here.

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The development comes close on the heels of another UP Congress vice-president, Lalitesh Pati Tripathi, grandson of veteran party leader Kamlapati Tripathi, resigning from all posts and primary membership of the party.

This came a few months after ex-Union minister Jitin Prasada, the son of former Congress leader Jitendra Prasad, crossed over to the BJP.

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Prasada, a prominent Brahmin leader, was inducted in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet on Sunday.

When asked about his joining the SP, Anuragi, a former MLA from Rath in Hamirpur, claimed that he was not feeling comfortable in the Congress as he was not being heard.

This came on a day when Vadra completed a five-day visit to the state to review the party's poll preparedness.

In the 2017 state elections, the Congress managed to win only seven seats in the 403-member legislative assembly.

The party has now decided not to enter into any alliance with either the SP or the BSP for the coming UP election.

The development comes amid a crisis in Punjab and other state units of the Congress.

In Punjab, party stalwart Amarinder Singh quit as chief minister a few days back and on Thursday, said that he would resign from the Congress as well. State unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu had also put in his papers recently.

Asked about Anuragi leaving the party, Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said, "Who leaves the party at a time of struggle? History doesn't forgive such people. We are not in power for 30 years in the state, but under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, we are fighting."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)