An MLA from the Bharatiya Janata Party, three expelled legislators from the Congress, and another from the Samajwadi Party joined the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The lawmakers made their moves official in the presence of BSP General Secretary and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Naseemuddin Siddiqui, The Indian Express reported. The change in loyalties is being considered a boost for the Maywati-led party ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections in the state.

Kazim Ali Khan from Swar (Rampur), Dilnawaz Khan (Bulandshahr) and Mohammed Muslim (Tiloi Assembly seat in Amethi) were expelled from the Congress in June for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. The other leaders are SP's Nawazish Alam Khan, an MLA from Budhana in Muzaffarnagar, and BJP's Avdhesh Verma, who had left the BSP to join the BJP before the 2012 Assembly elections.

All but one of the five MLAs are Muslims, who account for 19% the electorate in Uttar Pradesh, according to The Hindu. Officials said the BSP is likely to nominate 120-140 Muslim candidates to the 403-member Assembly.