UP elections: Seventh BJP MLA Mukesh Verma Quits Party
Guwahati: A seventh BJP MLA and backward caste leader Mukesh Verma has resigned today, marking the third day of exodus from Uttar Pradesh’s dominant party less than a month before elections.
Mukesh Verma announced his resignation on Twitter and showed up at Swami Prasad Maurya’s house, when the exodus began.
Mukesh Verma, an MLA from Firozabad in western Uttar Pradesh, is an OBC (Other Backward Class) leader like Swami Prasad Maurya and four others who have just left the BJP.
His resignation letter like all the others, condemned the party for ignoring Uttar Pradesh’s disadvantaged classes. But he went even further, referring to Swami Prasad Maurya as “the oppressed’s voice” and “our leader.”
Mr Verma wrote in his resignation letter, “The BJP government has ignored Dalits, backward castes, and minorities for the past five years, and has disregarded people’s representatives.”
According to the MLA, “Dalits and other backward castes have been oppressed by the state government. Farmers, unemployed youngsters, and small and medium businesses are all affected. I’m leaving the party because of these policies. Swami Prasad Maurya is the oppressed’s voice and our leader. I’m there with him.”
It may be noted that Dara Singh Chauhan, an OBC leader, resigned from Yogi Adityanath’s government on Wednesday and appeared to be on his way to the Samajwadi Party.
Swami Prasad Maurya, a renowned Other Backward Class leader, had resigned from the state cabinet the day before, while BJP leaders in Delhi discussed the upcoming UP assembly elections.
It may be mentioned that three additional BJP MLAs announced their resignations, ostensibly in support of Maurya.
A BJP MLA, Avtar Singh Bhadana left the party on Wednesday to join the Rashtriya Lok Dal, an SP ally.
However, two Uttar Pradesh legislators, Naresh Saini of the Congress and Hari Om Yadav of the SP joined BJP on Wednesday, a positive move for the ruling party as it grapples with surprise defections.