Naresh Agarwal, a former Rajya Sabha MP, joined the BJP in March 2018, after he was denied a renomination by the Samajwadi Party. Before the 2022 UP assembly elections, Nitin Agarwal, who was an SP MLA from Hardoi Sadar, also joined the BJP and contested on a BJP ticket to win for the fourth time. He was made a minister of state (independent charge) for excise and liquor prohibition.
