Lucknow, Nov 3 (IANS): The Samajwadi Party has suffered a major setback in Uttar Pradesh with former MP Ravi Prakash Verma quitting the party to join Congress.

Verma told reporters that SP has deviated from the path of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

A four-time MP Ravi PrakashVerma was known for his proximity to the Samajwadi Party leadership.

Verma sent his resignation to SP national President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday. In his letter, he has written that due to the internal situation of the party in Lakhimpur Kheri district, he is unable to work, hence he is resigning from the primary membership of SP.

Verma is an influential leader of the non-Yadav backward community.

He won the elections three times consecutively and remained MP till 2009, but lost the election after that. Later, Akhilesh Yadav made him Rajya Sabha MP. Samajwadi Party had given a ticket to his daughter Purvi Verma in the last Lok Sabha elections but she lost the election.

Ravi Prakash Verma has decided to join Congress. He has called a meeting of his supporters, in which he will announce his decision.