As rival sides shop for support ahead of the trial of strength in Lok Sabha on July 22, Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Parliament Akbar Ahmad Dampi on Wednesday met Samwadji Party MP Afzal Ansari in Ghazipur district jail of Uttar Pradesh, in an apparent bid to poach SP's lawmakers.

Dampi met Ansari and his brother controversial independent Member of Legislative Assembly Mukhtar Ansari in the jail, sources said.

Later, a BSP spokesman said in Lucknow that the meeting between Dampi and Ansari was 'personal' and it had nothing to do with the party.

The spokesman said it had come to the notice of the party that SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav wanted to meet BSP MP Umakant Yadav and give him a message in this regard.

"BSP did not make it an issue as it was his personal matter," he said, adding "personal visits should not be politicised."