UP Cabinet minister, 3 BJP MLAs resign, may join Samajwadi Party

Defections from across parties gaining traction as Assembly elections approach

Uttar Pradesh Minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday resigned from the state Cabinet and called upon Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.

The setback to the the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came on a day when a key meeting to discuss the  Ass­e­mbly polls, now just a month away, was taking place in Delhi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya attended the meeting, as the party begins shortlisting its candidates.

Yadav shared a photo of him with Maurya on Twitter, and welcomed him into the SP