New Delhi, 29 January 2003 — The 23-member Congress Legislature Party in Uttar Pradesh state formally split yesterday with six party legislators forming a separate group called the Akhil Bharatiya Congress Dal‚(ABCD). The state assembly Speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi gave recognition to the new group. The group includes K. Upadhyay, Shyam Narain Tewari, Qasim Ali, Virender Singh Bundela, Vinod Kumar Singh and Dinesh Singh. The legislators have expressed faith and confidence in the leadership of Chief Minister Mayawati. Meanwhile, state Congress chief Arun Kumar Singh Munna has expressed surprise over the move. He claimed that the legislators who met the speaker yesterday, had also met party President Sonia Gandhi and promised to keep the party united.