UP Polls: 3rd Cabinet Minister Dharma Saini Quits Team Yogi

In 24 hours, 4 BJP MLAs left the party

Lucknow: Tensed clouds of shock has been shrouded on BJP since the Cabinet Ministers and MLAs filed their resignation from the Uttar Pradesh's BJP Govt. The UP Govt. lost a "third Cabinet Minister" and backward caste leader, Dharam Singh Saini, who had earlier hotly denied that he was quitting the BJP.

Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh's Assembly Election Polls, it is a loss to Uttar Pradesh's BJP as in the last three days the party has lost three Cabinet Ministers and almost seven party-MLAs. They are all tipped to join Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.

Just 24 hours ago, Dharam Singh Saini, a four-time MLA from Naked in Saharanpur and a key OBC (Other Backward Class) leader, had rubbished reports of leaving the BJP.

Mr. Saini also slammed the Swami Prasad Maurya, the first minister who quit UP Govt. and set the tone for a series of exits.

Mr. Saini had said in a video he released to refute the reports, "My name was wrongly given in Swami Prasad Maurya's list that is floating around. I had no idea. I am and will be in the BJP. I am not leaving the party."

But sooner, he returned his government home and security, tell-tale signs that he was on his way out.

Sources said Yogi Adityanath had also dialled Mr. Saini to persuade him to stay.

But his resignation followed a similar pattern to that of six others, with Akhilesh Yadav playing his role by sharing a photo with the latest defector and "welcoming him".

Like always, Mr Yadav used the hashtag Mela Hobe - a tweaked version of the Trinamool Congress's wildly successful catchphrase "Khela Hobey (game on)."

Yesterday, the seventh BJP MLA, another backward caste leader, Mukesh Verma, quit the BJP and posted his resignation on Twitter.

Akhilesh Yadav has shared photos of his meeting with most of the eight leaders who have quit the BJP this week. The near-identical resignation letters, posted on Twitter, indicate planning and strategy.

For Akhilesh Yadav, the BJP's main rival in the February-March election, the explosion of OBC leaders is a big boost.