BUDAN: Hours after Uttar Pradesh Labour and Employment Minister Swami Prasad Maurya quit his post, his daughter and the BJP's Badaun MP Sanghamitra Maurya on Tuesday claimed her father has not joined any party and will reveal his strategy in a couple of days.
The Samajwadi Party tweeted a photo of Swami Prasad Maurya and Varma with party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and wrote in Hindi, "Welcome to the Samajwadi Party. There will be a social justice revolution. There will be a change in 2022."
Sanghamitra Maurya told PTI that her father has definitely resigned but has not joined Samajwadi Party or any other outfit yet.
Asked about Akhilesh Yadav's Twitter post welcoming Swami Prasad Maurya to the Samajwadi Party fold, she said even in 2016 when her father had left the BSP, Shivpal Yadav had posted a photo with him which also went viral on social media.
She said her father has told the media that he will decide his strategy after two days.
Akhilesh Yadav has shared his picture with Maurya on Twitter.
Along with the post, he wrote, "Warm welcome and greetings to the popular leader Swami Prasad Maurya Ji, who fought for social justice and equality, and all the other leaders, workers and supporters who came with him to SP! There will be social justice revolution -- there will be a change in 2022."
The BJP's Tindwari MLA Brajesh Prajapati, Tilhar MLA Roshan Lal Varma and Bilhaur MLA Bhagwati Sagar have also announced they are leaving the party in support of Maurya.
However, there was no immediate word on the resignations being accepted.
Maurya, who hails from the other backward class (OBC) community, had crossed over to the BJP from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) before the 2017 assembly polls.
He is a five-time MLA from Padrauna, while his daughter Sanghmitra Maurya is a BJP MP and represents Badaun in the Lok Sabha.