Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2022: UP Minister Dharam Singh Saini resigns from BJP, third minister to quit party  |  Photo Credit: Twitter
Lucknow: In yet another setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Uttar Pradesh minister Dharam Singh Saini resigned from the ruling party on Thursday. Dharam Singh Saini was the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ayush, Food Security and Drug Administration and is believed to be a close aide of Swami Prasad Maurya who resigned from the BJP earlier this week.
‘Hearty welcome and greetings to him in SP’, tweeted SP chief Akhilesh Yadav as he shared the photograph with Dharam Singh Saini minutes after the latter announced resignation from Yogi’s cabinet.
This is the third minister-level resignation from the BJP within a span of a few days in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. Nine UP BJP MLAs have resigned from the party so far ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2022. Interestingly, Dharam Singh Saini’s resignation also comes at a time when the BJP Central Election Committee is in the process of finalising the list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh elections.
Dara Singh Chauhan, SP Maurya quit BJP
On Wednesday, Cabinet Minister in the Yogi Adityanath government Dara Singh Chauhan resigned from his position and cited neglect of farmers, Dalits and the unemployment in the state as reasons behind his exit.
“The Dalits and backward people because of whom the BJP came to power in 2017 were neglected during the tenure of the government. They were not respected and they did not get any justice. I, therefore, resigned from the government,” Singh told news agency ANI.
The series of resignations was triggered after Cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from his position in the government earlier this week.
Elections for the 403-seater Uttar Pradesh Assembly will be held in seven phases between February 10 to March 7. The voting will take place on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7. Results for Uttar Pradesh elections 2022 will be declared on March 10.