OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who had rebelled against the BJP only to lose from his seat in the 2022 Assembly election, filed his papers as the Samajwadi Party’s MLC candidate along with three others on Wednesday.
Mr. Maurya, a former Cabinet Minister in both the BSP and the BJP governments before he joined the SP ahead of the 2022 election, said the SP had honoured Dalits, backward caste people, deprived sections, the poor and unemployed youth by nominating him. He said he had always “raised voice for them.”
Mr. Maurya faced an embarrassing upset in Fazilnagar in the Assembly election, as changing his constituency from seat Padrauna at the last minute proved costly. In the months leading to the election, his rebellion along with other mostly OBC MLAs of the BJP, was projected by the SP as a potential game changer in its favour.
While the SP alliance increased its seat tally, the BJP came out a comfortable winner with a majority. Mr. Maurya, who raised the slogan of 85 vs 15, alluding to the mobilisation of OBC and Dalits against the numerical minority of ‘upper castes’, suffered a personal setback.
By sending him to the U.P. Legislative Council, the SP not only hopes to appease the OBC community, but also cash in on his oratory skills, especially on issues of social justice and those concerning the backward castes. Mr. Maurya was trained in the Ambedkarite-Bahujan stream of thought.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who accompanied Mr. Maurya during the nomination, said he understood the functioning of the House, having occupied a position in the government and played the role of the leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Yadav said he expected Mr. Maurya to raise his voice for the people, farmers and workers with “responsibility” in the State legislative council.
Meanwhile, another Maurya leader, an ally of the SP in the Assembly election, Keshav Dev Maurya, announced that he was breaking his ties with the SP. Mr. Keshav Dev, president of the Mahan Dal, accused the SP of neglecting his party.
When reporters asked Mr. Akhilesh to comment on the displeasure of his allies, he said he would try and “take everyone along” in the coming days
Apart from Mr. Swami Prasad Maurya, three other SP candidates filed their nominations — Mukul Yadav, Kashmir Ansari and Shahnawaz Khan.
Mr. Mukul is the son of Sobaran Singh Yadav, a former MLA from Karhal in Mainpuri who vacated his seat for Akhilesh Yadav to contest in the 2022 election. Mr. Ansari is a former two-time MLA from Sitapur, while Mr. Shahnawaz Khan alias Shabbu is the son of Sarfaraz Khan of Saharanpur, considered a close aide of senior SP leader Azam Khan.
