MS Dhoni's elder brother joins Samajwadi Party

Lucknow, Dec 16: Narendra Singh Dhoni, elder brother of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, joined the Samajwadi Party on Sunday. Dhoni met SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence in Lucknow and expressed the desire to join the party and strengthen it in Jharkhand where assembly election, along with Lok Sabha elections, are due next year.

NS Dhoni had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2009 and campaigned for its candidate during Jharkhand assembly election.

Dhoni arrived along with SP in charge for Jharkhand Kashinath Yadav and SP state president in Jharkhand Meraj Khan to meet Yadav. Dhoni said he was joining the party "after considering the policies of the Samajwadi Party". The development led to speculations that SP may field NS Dhoni from Ranchi in Lok Sabha elections. SP leaders also did not rule out the possibility of Dhoni getting the ticket for Jharkhand assembly election.

SP received a drubbing in the recent assembly elections in five states where it failed even to open its account. Annoyed with party's performance, Mulayam dissolved the party's state units in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

The development came a day after the BJP said it would go alone in Jharkhand assembly election following a 'bad experience' in alliance politics in the state. The BJP ruled Jharkhand for the maximum period in the state's 13-year-old political history in alliance with JD(U), JMM and independent MLAs on different occasions before Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren formed an alliance with the Congress and RJD in July this year to lead the ninth government.