Keshav Prasad Maurya had CM ambitions, his election bid failed’: Congress’ Ajay Rai amid reports of rift within UP BJP
Keshav Prasad Maurya, considered a heavyweight leader in the party from the OBC community, was the state BJP chief when the saffron party came to power in 2017.
Amid tensions within Uttar Pradesh BJP, Congress state chief Ajay Rai has claimed that Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya nurtured his ambition to become the chief minister, but his election bid failed. Maurya, considered a heavyweight leader in the party from the OBC community, was the state BJP chief when the saffron party came to power in 2017. He was expecting to become the chief minister, but the BJP went ahead with Yogi Adityanath.
Amid tensions within the ruling BJP in the state of Uttar Pradesh,
Congress state chief Ajay Rai has claimed that Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had the ambition to become the chief minister, but his election bid was sabotaged. Maurya, considered a heavyweight leader in the party from the OBC community, was the state BJP chief when the saffron party came to power in 2017. He was expecting to become the chief minister, but this could not be materialized.
In what was seen as an attack on CM Yogi, Maurya said on Wednesday that the party was bigger than the government. “The organization is bigger than the government, the pain of the workers is my pain. No one is bigger than the organization, the workers are the pride,” the post shared by the office of the deputy CM on X said. It quoted a part of Maurya’s address during the BJP’s working committee meeting in Lucknow on Sunday.
“The organization was bigger than the government and will always be bigger. The doors of my residence at 7 Kalidas Marg are open to everyone. I am deputy chief minister later but first I am a worker,” Maurya said in the meeting held recently at his residence. He also urged all the ministers, MLAs, and public representatives to respect party workers.
Interestingly, in the last elections, Maurya could not retain his assembly seat and lost the elections.
Sources said the popularity amongst a section of OBC that Maurya commanded earlier no more exists on the ground.
People of his constituency accuse him of amassing wealth.
His family members including his son throw their weight around the official machinery.
A decade ago Maurya was nothing but look at the property that he has made in all these areas including Kaushambi and Allahabad, said a representative of his area not wishing to be named.
