Have been waiting for Swami Prasad Maurya since 2011... BJP is perturbed: Akhilesh Yadav

"Had he joined us after leaving BSP, we need not have seen bad days for five years. Had he joined us in 2017, UP would've been forward today," Akhilesh Yadav said while praising Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently switched to Samajwadi Party from BJP

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Fazilnagar (UP): Voting for the fifth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls began on Sunday (February 27) morning. 692 candidates are contesting on 61 seats spread across 12 districts and this includes state Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya among others. As people turned out to vote, politicians across parties continued to turn on the heat on each other, attacking their rivals and outlining their respective party's achievements.

Former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday praised influential OBC leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently switched over to the SP along with some other BJP leaders. He will be contesting from Fazilnagar. The constituency will vote in the sixth round on March 3.

Hitting out at BJP, Akhilesh at Fazilnagar said, "They're perturbed. They can't seem to remember the day when Swami Prasad Maurya joined us. I was waiting since 2011. Had he joined us after leaving BSP, we need not have seen bad days for five years. Had he joined us in 2017, UP would've been forward today." 

He added, "Earlier when we used to sit across from each other in Vidhan Sabha, he (Swami Prasad Maurya) used to speak from Opposition. We had to answer and we used to reply in the House. Earlier we sat across from each other, now we'll sit close to each other and run the government."

Meanwhile, Swami Prasad Maurya faces a tough challenge to enter the assembly for the sixth time. Close on the heels of a BJP masterstroke of inducting former Union minister and popular OBC leader RPN Singh to cover up for the loss, Maurya changed his constituency from Padrauna to Fazilnagar within the Kushinagar district. However, the poll battle may not be easy for him in Fazilnagar which was won by Ganga Singh Kushwaha of the BJP in 2017. The Congress has fielded Manoj Kumar Singh from the seat, and Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Ilyas Ansari had recently quit the Samajwadi Party.

According to estimates of political parties, the Fazilnagar assembly segment has around 90,000 Muslim voters, 55,000 Maurya Kushwahas, 50,000 Yadavs, 30,000 Brahmins, 40,000 Kurmi-Sainthwars, 30,000 Vaishyas and about 80,000 Dalits, reported PTI. BSP's Ilias Ansari threatens to split the votes of its electorally dominant community, taking the advantage away from the SP, which is banking on its traditional vote bank. Political experts think Maurya's chances rest on Muslim votes not getting split. With BJP nominee Surendra Singh Kushwaha being a fellow caste man and since RPN Singh could rally Kurmi-Sainthwars with him, Maurya's bet rests on how Yadavs and Muslims vote.

Claiming a massive victory in Fazilnagar, Swami Prasad Maurya had earlier said that the Samajwadi Party will win more than 300 seats and the BJP will be wiped out. Hailing from Pratapgarh district, Maurya, in his long political career, has been the state president of the BSP, the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and a minister in the Mayawati-led governments. He won the assembly elections twice from Raebareli district and thrice from Padrauna.

Some observers believe Swami Prasad Maurya was the only big leader from this community earlier, but now Keshav Prasad Maurya, who became the BJP state president in 2016 and deputy chief minister in 2017, has become the face of the non-Yadav backward classes. 

(With PTI inputs)