Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya quit the Bhartiya Janta Party on Tuesday, weeks before the crucial assembly polls in the state, landing a blow to the Yogi Adityanath-led government. Maurya held the position of Minister of Labour in the cabinet.

Maurya switched to the Samajwadi Party even before his resignation letter emerged.

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In a statement, he said, “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”, ANI reported.

Keshav Prasad Maurya, the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, responded to the announcement and said his decision could “backfire”.

He wrote, “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.”

Minutes after Swami Prasad Maurya announced his exit, three-time MLA Roshan Lal Verma also quit the BJP. In a statement to ANI, Maurya warned “dozens of MLAs will resign in the coming days.”

The announcements come as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Indian Home Minister Amit Shah attended a key BJP meeting as the party shortlists its probable candidates for the initial phases of the state assembly polls before its Central Election Committee meeting to finalise the names.

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Swami Prasad Maurya, who is known to be a pro-OBC (Other Backward Class) leader, previously quit the Bahujan Samaj Party and then joined the BJP in 2016.

Uttar Pradesh– considered to be a crucial political state– will conduct the upcoming assembly elections in seven phases. The first round is scheduled to commence on February 10, 2022 and results are expected to be declared a month later.

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