In a setback for the Congress and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, two sitting MLAs and a former MLA have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) .

Naresh Saini, Congress MLA from Behat (Saharanpur), Hari Om Yadav who represents Sirsaganj (Firozabad) and former SP MLA Dr Dharmpal Singh joined BJP in presence of senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leaders in Delhi.

This comes after Labour Minister and the BJP’s OBC face Swami Prasad Maurya tendered his resignation from the Yogi Adityanath government and announced that he would be joining the Samajwadi Party (SP) on January 14.

“I have resigned from the Yogi Cabinet keeping in mind the government’s attitude towards Dalits, backward classes, farmers, youth, and traders. I have sent the letter to the Governor,” Maurya had said.

Responding to Maurya’s allegation, UP minister and government spokesman Siddhartha Nath Singh said that the former BJP minister, in all the five years that he was a minister, never raised any concern about the state government overlooking interests of backward castes, Dalits or the youth.

“Those who did not work and expected things to happen in the last minute, also understood whether they will get a ticket. So, accordingly, left because of that. They knew that they won’t get a ticket,” he said.

BJP sources told IANS that Maurya was angling for a ticket for his son Utkarsh Maurya. His daughter Sanghmitra Maurya is already an MP from Badaun.

Maurya, a prominent leader from the OBC (Other Backward Class) community, had joined the BJP from Bahujan Samaj Party in 2016.

BJP MLA Vinay Shakya has also said that he would go with Maurya while Roshan Lal Varma, Brijendra Prajapati and Bhagwati Sharan Sagar also tendered their resignation. 

Elections for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly will be held in seven phases with polling on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10.