BJP sinking in quagmire of internal conflicts: Akhilesh
In the heat of BJP’s fight for power, governance and administration in UP have been put on the back burner. The work of sabotage politics that the BJP used to do in other parties is now being done inside its party, says SP chief
LUCKNOW Amid speculation of a rift within the BJP in UP after the Lok Sabha poll debacle, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took pot shots at the saffron party’s governance on Wednesday, a day after deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda in Delhi.
“In the heat of BJP’s fight for power, governance and administration in UP have been put on the back burner. The work of sabotage politics that the BJP used to do in other parties is now being done inside its party. That is why BJP is sinking in the quagmire of internal conflicts. There is no one in BJP who thinks about the public,” Yadav stated in a post on social media platform X.
A separate post on X by Samajwadi Party stated: “Keshav Prasad Maurya is repeatedly busy shaking CM Yogi’s chair...he gets power from Delhi and he starts targeting CM, then he goes to Delhi, and in return gets nothing.”
“All these BJP members are fighting for their own interests, making statements for their interests. Some want to get a position, some want to save others, they have nothing to do with public interest,” the SP alleged.
In a post on X, Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinet stated: “UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is in Delhi. He is continuously meeting Nadda. He is the one who has led the rebellion against Yogi in the state. On whose orders he is doing this...you all know that much. Let me tell you that this gentleman had lost assembly elections.”
After meeting Nadda, Keshav Prasad Maurya, in a post on social media platform X, had stated: “The organisation is bigger than the government, the pain of workers is my pain. No one is bigger than the organisation, the workers are the pride...”
Earlier in the meeting of the BJP state executive on July 14 (Sunday), Maurya had said: “The organisation is bigger than the government, no one is bigger than the organisation. Every worker is our pride. Though the 2024 election results were not as per our expectations, in 2027, the BJP will again defeat the opposition parties by combining its strength. BJP workers are always at the top. They are bigger than the government. They were bigger and will remain bigger.”
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had blamed “over-confidence among party workers” for the electoral debacle in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP could not effectively counter INDIA bloc’s campaign, he said. BJP president JP Nadda was also present in the meeting.
The rift among senior BJP leaders has widened after the poor performance of the party in UP. There has long been a buzz about ‘less-than-warm relationship’ between Keshav Maurya and Yogi Adityanath. There are speculations that the party’s central leadership might make a major announcement for the organisational shake-up in the state soon.
On Wednesday, a meeting of ministers was held under the chairmanship of chief minister Yogi Adityanath to discuss the BJP’s preparations for the bypolls to 10 assembly seats in UP.
BJP MLA from Sarojini Nagar assembly seat in Lucknow, Rajeshwar Singh, said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav should know that those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones at others’ houses.
“Remember, while riding on the chariot of power, you could not even keep your family together! You don’t even remember the time when more than 62 people were killed in the Muzaffarnagar riots, and you were spending time with film stars at the Saifai Mahotsav, leaving the displaced people shivering in tents,” he added.
“The BJP’s policies, intentions are clear, and the leadership is strong. The 25 crore people of the state, while living happily and peacefully under the BJP rule, still shudder remembering the riots, hooliganism and mafia rule during the SP regime,” said the MLA.
