Former Lok Sabha member and Congress leader Akbar Ahmed 'Dumpy' on Saturday rejoined the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Dumpy, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Azamgarh on a BSP ticket in 1998, had quit the party to join the Congress in 2002.
He had unsuccessfully contested the by-election for Kannauj parliamentary seat against Akhilesh Yadav, son of Samajwadi Party chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Dumpy said, "The Congress has failed to counter communal forces or do anything concrete for the cause of minorities and dalits."
He said BSP was better placed to give a stiff fight to the Bharatiya Janata Party in UP.