Amid talks of internal discord in Uttar Pradesh’s BJP unit, the newly-appointed party’s vice president AK Sharma has endorsed Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister candidate for the next year’s state Assembly polls.
In a letter to state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, Sharma, considered to be one of the close aides of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, backed Adityanath as the CM face for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Recently, the BJP chief of the UP unit had said that the next Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will be contested under the leadership of Adityanath.
“Corruption and hooliganism have ended and development is taking place. We will fight the 2022 elections under hardworking and honest Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,” Dev had told reporters.
However, senior party leader and UP minister Swami Prasad Maurya, earlier today, said that Uttar Pradesh’s next chief minister will be finalised by the BJP’s central leadership after the state Assembly elections next year.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had also made a similar statement recently and said the party’s national leadership will decide under whom the upcoming elections will be fought
Talks of rift in UP BJP
The developments come as murmurs grow against Adityanath in the party over his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The BJP’s central leadership has, however, dispelled rumours about a leadership change in the state ahead of the next year’s Assembly elections. Uttar Pradesh in-charge Radha Mohan Singh had earlier this month defended the Adityanath government’s handling of the COVID-19 situation, shooting down speculation of a leadership change in the state.
However, the party’s central leadership is planning an organisational overhaul to iron out the possible differences between the UP government and the state unit of the saffron party.
A few BJP lawmakers recently expressed their resentment publically on the handling of the second COVID wave, setting off speculation of internal bickering within the state’s party unit.
The Chief Minister had earlier this month met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi amid talks of Cabinet expansion or rejig in Uttar Pradesh and also dissent in the state’s BJP unit
