Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe

‘Tsunami against BJP’: Maurya, other rebels set to join SP ahead of UP elections

By, Lucknow
Jan 14, 2022 01:50 AM IST

The announcement came on a day a third Other Backward Class (OBC) minister, Dharam Singh Saini, quit the state cabinet and threelawmakers resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Thursday evening and announced that he will make a joint declaration with the Opposition party on Friday.

Former UP minister Swami Prasad Maurya along with other supporting MLAs on his way to meet SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, ahead of elections, at Janeshwar Mishra Trust in Lucknow on Thursday. (Deepak Gupta/HT)

The announcement came on a day a third Other Backward Class (OBC) minister, Dharam Singh Saini, quit the state cabinet and threelawmakers resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). All of them are considered loyalists of Maurya, a five-time legislator with influence in east and central UP regions.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

“We took a vow to defeat the BJP in the assembly elections. A joint declaration with the SP will be made on January 14. There is a tsunami against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and it will be brought (down) to the 47-seat tally that it won the 2012 assembly elections,” Maurya said after the hour-long meeting.

The former labour minister also said that ministers, lawmakers and leaders who resigned from the BJP and were loyal to him were introduced to Yadav. A discussion was held on the strategy, campaign and fielding of candidates, Maurya added.

“My decision has triggered an earthquake in the BJP, there will a big tremor in the saffron brigade on Friday (January 14) with my announcement. I pleaded with the BJP leaders for the welfare of Dalits and backwards but they couldn’t care less. Now, the BJP leaders are using all the tricks to stop the MLAs from deserting the party, but the resignation will continue even after January 14,” he said.

Maurya termed the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP as snakes that were swallowing the rights of the backward communities. “I will become a mongoose to fight the BJP as well as to protect the rights of the weaker sections,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls in seven phases beginning February 10 and ending March 7. The votes will be counted on March 10.

Since the elections were announced on January 8, 12 lawmakers have quit the BJP, denting the ruling party’s chances of returning to power for a second straight term. Maurya was the first prominent leader to resign on January 11, followed by Dara Singh Chauhan on January 12, and Dharam Singh Saini on Wednesday -- all three of them prominent OBC leaders.

The flurry of resignations indicate that the BJP may have problems holding on to its rainbow coalition of non-dominant backward groups that propelled it to an unprecedented victory in 2017.

Maurya met all ministers, legislators and leaders who quit the BJP. This included Shikohabad MLA Mukesh Verma and Bidhuna MLA Vinay Shakya. Chaudhary Amar Singh, a lawmaker from BJP ally Apna Dal, also resigned.

“I thank all the self-respecting ministers and MLAs who have resigned from the BJP that had neglected the backward and dalit community. All are coming under one umbrella to restore the dignity and welfare of the backward and Dalit community,” Maurya said.

“Uttar Pradesh is not a grazing ground for the BJP. The people have decided to give them a farewell in the assembly elections,” he added.

Dara Singh Chauhan, who resigned from the cabinet on Wednesday, met Yadav again on Thursday. Chauhan had joined the BJP in February 2015. “Swami Prasad Maurya is a senior OBC leader. We are unitedly fighting for social justice and welfare of the backward community. We decided to bid adieu to the BJP as its policies were anti-backward and Dalit,” he said.

Chauhan is an influential OBC leader of east UP with a hold on the Lonia-Chauhan community in Mau, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Ballia, Jaunpur and Ambedkar Nagar districts.“I, along with Swami Prasad Maurya, will make a final announcement on January 14,” he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
OPEN APP