UP elections: BJP gets breather as UP Minister Dharam Singh Saini rules out quitting party

Amid speculation about his induction into SP ahead of the UP elections, Minister Dharam Singh Saini clarified on Tuesday that he would not quit BJP. Saini who holds Independent charge of the Ayush and Food Security and Drug Administration portfolios had joined the saffron party from BSP in 2016 just like Swami Prasad Maurya. Breaking his silence on Maurya allegedly included his name in a list of BJP legislators likely to switch sides, the MoS stressed that the former had done so without keeping him in the loop. 

UP Minister Dharam Singh Saini remarked, "Swami Prasad Maurya is like my elder brother and will remain like an elder brother. But I don't know why he has tendered his resignation. I have not talked with him in this regard. But I have learnt from the media that he has included my name in the list of BJP leaders who are going to leave the party. This is wrong. He has given my name without my knowledge. I am in BJP and will remain in BJP". This will come as a relief to BJP as MLAs Vinay Shakya, Roshan Lal Verma, Brijesh Prajapati and Bhagwati Sagar too have resigned with Maurya and are set to join SP. 

Blow for BJP ahead of UP elections

BJP was left embarrassed on Tuesday after key OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from the UP Cabinet and joined SP. In his resignation letter, he claimed that various sections of the society including Dalits, backward classes and youths were being neglected by the Yogi Adityanath-led government. The Padrauna MLA also mentioned that he discharged his responsibilities with full sincerity amid adverse circumstances in the state. 

"I have sounded an alarm by resigning. There is a pain of 5 years behind this decision as the unemployed were made fun of and the treatment with Dalits, other backward classes, farmers, unemployed youth, small and medium enterprises traders by the current Yogi leadership is the reason I resigned. 2022 election will tell who is the real Swami Prasad Maurya," he told Republic TV.

Welcoming Maurya's decision, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav remarked, "There will be a revolution of social justice. There will be a change in 2022". The BJP leader's entry is likely to boost SP's appeal among non-Yadav OBCs in the UP election which is being held in 7 phases- February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7. On the other hand, the counting of votes will take place on March 10.