Senior Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agrawal, who is also known as close aide of ex-Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, joined BJP on Monday.
Many believe that Agrawal was angry with the SP leadership for not giving him the ticket for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
Agrawal was sidelined and the party decided to nominate Jaya Bachchan for the elections of the Upper House.
Foes turn friends?
Known for his acerbic tongue, Agrawal has courted controversy for his remarks at various times.
Last month, he was slammed by the BJP for making castiest remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At a programme organised by traders last month, a person while raising concerns related to the business community mentioned that both PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah also belonged to the same section of the society.
"Tell them to make laws in favour of the community... Amit Shah is from our community, but Modi is a 'Teli'," Agarwal had said prompted a strong reaction from some members of the audience who were apparently not pleased at the remarks.
Reacting strongly, UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey had said, "We condemn the attempt made by SP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP to link the name of the prime minister with a community, and demand that he should tender an apology."
In a statement, Pandey had said the Prime Minister of India does not belong to any particular caste or community and represents all the 125 crore people.
"SP indulges in caste politics and wants to create differences in the society for its vested political interests," Pandey claimed.
Later, speaking to reporters after the programme, Agrawal seemed to defend his comments.
"Every person has a caste, and there is nothing new in this. If any leader is not telling his caste, then public will tell his caste...Let me give you a piece of advice, if you want to known about your three generations, then contest an MP or MLA election. The opposition will tell what you don't know. We are not talking about the caste of the prime minister, people are talking about it," the SP leader, who has made controversial statements in the past, said.
