Expelled SP Minister joins NCP, retains berth

By Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI, OCT. 17. A week after his expulsion from the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Maharashtra Minister of State for Slum Improvement, Mr. Nawab Malik, today joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and retained his berth.

The SP, a constituent of the ruling Congress-NCP-led Democratic Front in the State, had two members in the Assembly. The expulsion left the party with no representation in the 289- member House. Earlier, another SP member, Mr. Basheer Patel, had joined the NCP.

Mr. Malik's removal was on the cards for long because of his sharp differences with the high-profile State leader, Mr. Abu Azmi. ``Our differences were on the question of combating communalism,'' Mr. Nawab said. ``I found myself being sacked when I suggested that hard thinking was needed to stop leaders and activists leaving the party.''

Both, the Congress and the NCP, wooed Mr. Malik, who was elected from a Muslim-dominated Kurla constituency of north- east Mumbai. Several other key functionaries of the SP, including the State vice-president, Mr. Aasif Patel, and the district president, Mr. Shameem Qureshi, joined the NCP.

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