UP polls 2022: ‘Rebel’ BJP MLA denies daughter's ‘abduction’ claim; says he supports Swami Prasad Maurya

After Maurya resigned as cabinet minister on Tuesday, several MLAs, too, quit the party in his support. Vinay Shakya's daughter, meanwhile, alleged her father was ‘forcibly’ taken by her uncle to Lucknow.

Vinay Shakya, one of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ‘rebel’ MLAs in Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday countered his daughter's claim of being ‘forcibly taken away,’ saying that he was, in fact, at his residence in Etawah. Expressing his support for Swami Prasad Maurya, who resigned from the state cabinet a day ago, Shakya said he will join the Samajwadi Party (SP).

UP BJP MLA Vinay Shakya (ANI)

Maurya, who joined the BJP from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), resigned from his post on Tuesday, accusing chief minister Yogi Adityanath's government of neglecting traders, backward classes, farmers, unemployed youth and small-medium sized traders.

Following his resignation, and subsequent meeting with SP chief and former CM Akhilesh Yadav, three more legislators resigned from the ruling party: Bhagwati Sagar (MLA from Bilhaur in Kanpur), Brajesh Prajapati (Tindwari in Banda) and Roshan Lal Verma (Tilhar in Shahjahanpur).

Amid indications that more MLAs may follow suit, Dharam Singh Saini, a legislator whose name was doing the rounds, denied he was on his way out. Shakya's daughter, meanwhile, claimed that her father was ‘forcibly’ taken away by her uncle, Devesh Shakya, to Lucknow for ‘personal politics.’

However, refuting her allegations, Auraiya Superintendent of Police (SP) Abishek Verma said Vinay Shakya, who represents the Bidhuna assembly constituency, was at the latter's residence in the poll-bound state's Etawah.

The developments took place just a month before Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in seven phases, with the first round scheduled for February 10. The polling will end on March 7, with the counting of votes scheduled for March 10.