UP polls: Key UP Minister quits BJP, joins Samajwadi Party

Ahead of Assembly election in the state, Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya quit BJP and joined Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party on Tuesday.

“Despite a divergent ideology, I worked with dedication in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. But because of the grave oppression of Dalits, OBCs, farmers, unemployed and small businessmen, I am resigning,” read the resignation letter.

Maurya, one of the powerful OBC leaders in the state and multiple-term MLA, joined the BJP in 2016 after quitting Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.

(More details awaited)