Lucknow:Close on the heels of the last phase of elections on June 1, senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former minister Narad Rai hinted at joining the BJP and showered his praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He also shared a photograph of his meeting with Shah at a hotel in Varanasi on social media. Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar was also seen at the meeting.
Taking to his X handle, Rai wrote, "I will strengthen the nationalist ideology and the thinking of the Hon'ble Prime Minister Mr. @narendramodi ji, who has made India proud in the world, and the successful Home Minister of India, the Chanakya of politics, Mr. @AmitShah ji, which strengthens the poor living at the last rung of society. Jai Jai Shri Ram".
This has brought a major relief to BJP in Ballia, where the party's Neeraj Shekhar is pitted against Sanatan Pandey of SP. Rai, who has a lot of influence in Ballia, reportedly got angry with SP after the party gave ticket to Sanatan Pandey.