After he declared this during a court appearance, the beleaguered MP was stopped at the gate of the Naini Central Jail, where he was lodged, and sent to Lalitpur jail on the orders of the director general (prisons), said Ahmad’s lawyer Saulat Hanif.

“Atiq was transferred after he was found involved in illegal and criminal activities from inside the prison and the government is against the criminal activities,” said IG (prisons) Sulkhan Singh.

Having heaped praise Chief Minister only some time ago, Atiq on Thursday lashed out at the state government, accusing the Allahabad police of harassing him and his family. “The police have been conducting raids at my residence on regular intervals to terrorise my family.”

“The Allahabad police have moved an application in the court to auction my properties seized by the district and police administration,” he said.

“I will fight the election and I will also field candidates in 10 other Lok Sabha seats in the state. Talks with some smaller parties are on and soon I would announce the names of the candidates,” Atiq said, while hinting at the support of Apna Dal.

Ahmed said he felt disenchanted with the BSP that had “ditched” him despite his support to it during the trust vote in Parliament in July last year.

“I have expressed my desire to join the party unconditionally but some BSP leaders created confusion and things did not materialise,” said Ahmed, who was elected in 2004 as an SP candidate.