Former Uttar Pradesh minister and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan joined the Samajwadi Party on Sunday, days after he resigned from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet ahead of the assembly polls.

Besides Chauhan, Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA from Vishvanathganj Assembly constituency in Pratapgarh district R K Verma too joined the Akhilesh Yadav-led party which has emerged as the main challenger to the BJP in the state.