Battle for UP: Cabinet Minister Sa=wami Prasad Maurya quits BJP

Lucknow, Jan 11 In a major jolt to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections, Cabinet Minister Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from office on Tuesday.

His daughter Sanghmitra Maurya is a BJP MP from Badaun.

Sources said that Swami Prasad Maurya was likely to join Samajwadi Party.

In his resignation letter, he said that he was upset at the side lining of Dalits and weaker sections of society.

He had been upset because his son Utkarsh Maurya had not been "suitably accommodated" in the Yogi Adityanath government.

Swami Prasad Maurya, once one of the senior-most leader in the Bahujan Samaj Party, had joined the BJP just before the 2017 Assembly elections.

He won the Padrauna seat on a BJP ticket in 2017 and was made Labour Minister.

Sources close to Swami Prasad Maurya said that Sanghmitra Maurya would remain in BJP "for the time being".

Swami Prasad Maurya resignation and his likely joining the Samajwadi Party is a major jolt for the BJP since he remains popular in his community.

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