After Swami Prasad Maurya, three MLAs quit BJP weeks ahead of UP polls

With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election drawing nearer, the BJP has suffered a major setback in the state following the resignation of several important leaders.

On Tuesday, Swami Prasad Maurya, the Minister of Labour in the Yogi Adityanath government, resigned from the BJP to join Akhilesh Yadav‘s Samajwadi Party (SP). Maurya’s resignation was quickly followed by the resignations of three more MLA’s, namely, Roshan Lal Verma, Brijesh Prajapati, and Bhagwati Sagar, who followed in Maurya’s footsteps to join the SP ahead of the upcoming polls.

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Announcing his resignation on Twitter, Maurya wrote, “Despite a divergent ideology, I worked with dedication in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. But because of the grave oppression of Dalits, OBCs, farmers, unemployed and small businessmen, I am resigning,” adding that the “impact” of his resignation from the BJP would become “obvious after the 2022 assembly election.”

Reportedly, Maurya’s resignation had been on the cards for months, and the minister had earlier complained to Home Minister Amit Shah about differences in opinion with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. However, the BJP central leadership reportedly did not heed his warnings.

The slew of resignations appear to point towards growing discontent with Adityanath’s leadership, and sources have told media outlets that Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has been tasked with attempting to bring back the disgruntled leaders to the BJP.

The Deputy CM was quick to get on task, and made a public appeal to Maurya and the others on Twitter, writing, “I don’t know why Swami Prasad Maurya quit but I appeal to him, don’t quit but let us talk. Decisions taken in haste can backfire.”

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Maurya, however, told NDTV that the BJP’s attempts to coax him to come back to the party were a little too late. “Why did (Keshav Maurya) not think of this earlier? Why is he remembering me today? Right now everyone will talk but when a dialogue was needed, they did not have time,” asked the 68-year-old.

With the BJP scrambling to manage the situation in UP, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, an ally of the SP, claimed that these resignations would precipitate further resignations in the coming days, telling media, “Change is coming to UP. Today Maurya has resigned and 13 MLAs are going with him. In the coming days you will see and more people will quit.”

The UP elections are slated to take place in seven phases between February 10 and March 7, and counting of votes will take place on March 10.