Game Changer: Senior UP's BJP Leader Swami Prasad Joins SP

BJP MLA Roshan Lal Verma declared that he was leaving the BJP with Maurya

Lucknow: Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh election polls, UP BJP party and CM Yogi Adityanath faces a big political loss as senior leader Swami Prasad Maurya today quit as a minister and joined rival Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav.

Moments after he posted his resignation letter on Twitter, another MLA, Roshan Lal Verma, announced his resignation.

Reports suggest Mr Maurya may take a few more ministers and MLAs with him

While signing the registration as a BJP Minister, Swami Prasad wrote, "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."

Talking to the media, he said, "What impact my exit will have on the BJP will be obvious after the 2022 assembly election."

As his letter emerged on Twitter, Akhilesh Yadav tweeted a photograph with Mr Maurya, welcoming him and his supporters to the Samajwadi Party.

"I warmly welcome Swami Prasad Maurya, a leader who fights for social justice and equality, and all his supporters. There will be a revolution in social justice. Chang is coming in 2022," SP Leader Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

According to the official sources, on cue, Roshan Lal Verma, a three-time MLA, declared that he was leaving the BJP with Mr. Maurya.

Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister, posted an appeal on Twitter: "I don't know why Swami Prasad Maurya quit but I appeal to him, don't quit but let us talk. Decisions taken in haste can backfire."

The exits in Lucknow began as Yogi Adityanath and top BJP leaders met in Delhi to discuss the Uttar Pradesh election strategy.

Mr. Maurya, a powerful OBC (Other Backward Class) leader and multiple-term MLA, joined the BJP in 2016 after quitting Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).