The BJP’s woes in Uttar Pradesh deepened further on Thursday after more senior leaders left the party just days before the assembly polls. In the latest development, a third cabinet member of Yogi Adityanath, Dharam Singh Saini, submitted his resignation alleging discrimination by the BJP government against Dalits and farmers. BJP also lost two more MLAs namely Mukesh Verma and Vinay Shakya.
Saini, in his resignation letter said that he had worked hard to strengthen the party’s base amongst farmers, Dalits, educated youth and businessmen. But, he added, the Adityanath government had always treated these groups with disdain.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav later tweeted a photo of himself with Saini welcoming him in the Samajwadi Party.
‘सामाजिक न्याय’ के एक और योद्धा डॉ. धर्म सिंह सैनी जी के आने से, सबका मेल-मिलाप-मिलन करानेवाली हमारी ‘सकारात्मक और प्रगतिशील राजनीति’ को और भी उत्साह व बल मिला है। सपा में उनका ससम्मान हार्दिक स्वागत एवं अभिनंदन!
बाइस में समावेशी-सौहार्द की जीत निश्चित है! #मेला_होबे pic.twitter.com/2FDkLLNW93
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 13, 2022
Shakya was quoted by ANY as saying, “Swami Prasad Maurya is the voice of the downtrodden and he is our leader. I am with him.”
Lucknow: BJP MLA Vinay Shakya quits party
"Swami Prasad Maurya is the voice of the downtrodden and he is our leader. I am with him," Shakya writes in his resignation letter to the party pic.twitter.com/QMBw9JDAlG
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 13, 2022
Swami Prasad Maurya was the first cabinet minister to rock the BJP boat in Uttar Pradesh. He later joined the Samajwadi Party. Hourslater, an arrest warrant was issued against him for a hate speech he made in 2014.
Mukesh Verma, also an OBC leader, quit the party accusing the BJP leadership of not listening to him. He, however, did not say if he was going to join the Samajwadi Party.
