Big jolt to BJP as another minister quits UP cabinet

Former UP minister Dara Singh Chauhan (C). Credit: Facebook/DaraSinghChauhanBJP

A day after senior minister and influential OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya and four other MLAs resigned from the Yogi Adityanath ministry, key dalit leader and minister Dara Singh Chauhan resigned from the cabinet on Wednesday amid indications that he might join the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Influential 'Gujjar' community leader and BJP MLA Avtar Singh Bhadana also resigned from the party and joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on Wednesday.

In his resignation letter to governor Anandiben Patel, Chauhan said that he was resigning from the ministry in protest against the state government's failure to address the issues concerning the dalits, youths and farmers.

Also Read | UP polls: Why Swami and friends exited BJP

BJP central leadership had tried to persuade Chauhan not to leave the ministry and party, and had also offered to take him to Delhi and meet Union minister Amit Shah to resolve any issue that he might have but he declined.

Chauhan, an MLA from Madhuban assembly constituency in Mau district, wields considerable influence over the dalit community in some eastern UP districts including Ballia, Mau, Ghazipur and Azamgarh.

Chauhan's exit was a big jolt to the BJP which had cornered a considerable pie of dalit votes in the 2017 assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state. SP president Akhilesh Yadav took to Twitter to say that Chauhan was welcome to join his party. Some other SP leaders also said that Chauhan was expected to join the SP in the next few days.

The saffron party also witnessed the exit of influential 'Gujjar' leader and party legislator from Muzaffarnagar district Avtar Singh Bhadana who resigned from the saffron party and joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). According to the sources in the RLD, Bhadana had a meeting with RLD president Jayant Chaudhary in Delhi after which he announced his decision to quit the BJP.

Bhadana had been critical of the centre and the state government over their handling of the farmers' agitation against the now scrapped farm laws.

Meanwhile the BJP roped in two MLAs - SP legislator Hariom Yadav and Congress MLA Naresh Saini- who resigned from their respective parties and joined the saffron party.

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