Amid fiery election campaigns and headstrong competition in Uttar Pradesh between Mayawati’s BSP, Yogi, and Akhilesh Yadav, Cabinet Minister Swami Prasad Maurya left.
Bharatiya Janata Party to join the Samajwadi Party. The seven phases election will be held from 10th February and end on 7th March.
Maurya is one of the strong ministers with a long political career. On one side, it looks like a loss to BJP. On the other hand, Akhilesh Yadav wishes SP Maurya to write a welcome message on Twitter with his picture. The same caste background of SP Maurya and Akhilesh Yadav will only benefit the Samajwadi party.
After labour minister Maurya’s exit, the other BJP leaders, including MLA Tindwari in Banda, Brijesh Kumar Prajapati, and MLA Roshanlal Verma, also resigned from Yogi’s party and are likely to join the Samajwadi Party.
SP Maurya and his political journey
Before serving BJP for five years from the Padrauna constituency, veteran Maurya was close to the Bahujan Samaj Party. He spent 20 long years as a minister but left BSP stating, Mayawati sold tickets to anybody with big money. Mayawati made it clear that Maurya was in the party just for his selfish interests; to make his two children’s political career.
On resigning from the Bharatiya Janta Party’s, Maurya, the face of OBC, said that the BJP does not let the Other Backward Classes participate pretty in the elections. Hence, he left the party for a better presentation at Akhilesh Yadav’s party.
How it is going to affect BJP and SP
For the Samajwadi Party, the entry of the senior leader Maurya will benefit them in getting non-Yadav OBC votes. For Maurya, it is the chance of settling his children, especially his son Utkrust Maurya to get a seat in the party. Though, Maurya’s daughter Sanghmitra Maurya is still in the BJP and has not made any such statement of leaving the party.
Maurya claimed the BJP was not listening to his opinions, and his resignation from the party has brought an earthquake in the Yogi-led government.
With Maurya, a dozen likely to leave the party, the BJP with OBC state BJP chief Swatantra Dev and state general secretary Sunil Bansal is quickly trying to settle the case by making the leaders understand the importance of not leaving the party.
The Yogi government felt the exit of the ministers as a significant loss. Uttar Pradesh’s deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad also asked SP Maurya to reconsider the plan.
BJP leader Vijay Bahadur said that the party gave Maurya complete respect and presentation and made him a minister; why he left the party should be answered by him only.
BJP has incurred loss by his exit as many other leaders who followed Maurya are ready to resign from the party, following in his footsteps.
“SP Maurya joined BJP saying it is the only party which thinks about the poor, backward classes, and Dalits,” said another sitting BJP minister Siddharth Nath Singh.
Nath further said, “Under Maurya’s ministry, our party took the responsibility of collective marriages of the poor. He has changed the party, is he now against poor, backward classes, and Dalits?” Swami Prasad Maurya has not announced his decision to join the Samajwadi Party yet. He will declare his decision on the auspicious Hindu festival Makar Sankranti on 14th January 2022.
