Keshav Prasad Maurya sparked rift speculation with his speech on Sunday and a post on X on Wednesday following his meeting in Delhi with BJP president JP Nadda. Amid the apparent infighting within the Uttar Pradesh unit of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav made a cryptic ‘monsoon offer’ on Thursday. The social media post is seen as an invitation to the detractors of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to defect and form a new government.
This is not the first time Akhilesh Yadav has extended such an offer. In December 2022, the Samajwadi Party chief offered Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak the opportunity to “bring 100 MLAs and become CM of the state.”
“There are 2 Deputy CMs in the state. Both of them are looking for an opportunity to become a CM. We have come to give them an offer: bring 100 MLAs here, we are with you, and become CM whenever you want,” he had said at a rally in Rampur.
Reports of rumblings in the UP BJP have emerged after an underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha elections, which left Prime Minister Narendra Modi without a parliamentary majority and dependent on his allies.
Factional Tensions Rise in UP BJP Amid Post-Election Rumblings and Leadership Jabs
Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC leader and known detractor of Yogi Adityanath, set off speculation with his speech on Sunday and a post on X on Wednesday, hours after his meeting in Delhi with party president JP Nadda.
“The organisation is bigger than the government, the pain of the workers is my pain. No one is bigger than the organisation, the workers are the pride,” his office posted on X, in what appeared to be a jab at Yogi Adityanath.
The BJP dismissed any speculation of infighting and sought to project a united front in possibly the most politically crucial state.
However, leaders aware of the developments said the factionalism was not only limited to the state unit but also involved senior central leaders who were unhappy with the party’s performance in the state during the Lok Sabha polls.
