'Fight For The Chair': Keshav Prasad Maurya at The Centre of UP BJP's Tensions Due to His 'Political Aspirations'?

Is it the ‘fight for chair’ that has upset Uttar Pradesh (UP) Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya? It’s been more than three days ever since the probable differences between UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya became public, and the political tensions in the state are yet to die down. However, amid the apparent infighting, which the opposition has termed as the ‘fight for chair’, the bigger question is to why Maurya is upset.

Though multiple assumptions surround the alleged infighting, UP’s political analysts have defined the situation as a fallout of Maurya’s high political aspirations. Some party insiders suggest he is eyeing the State BJP Chief position again, while others believe he is unhappy with his current portfolio.

The controversy

On Wednesday evening, Maurya returned to UP after spending 48 hours in Delhi. Maurya’s trip to Delhi, where he met BJP President JP Nadda twice in 28 hours, further fuelled the ongoing controversy between him and UP CM. On Deputy CM’s meeting with Nadda, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav wrote a post on ‘X’ (previously Twitter), “In the heat of the fight for chair, governance and administration in UP has been put on the back burner.” The SP chief’s post further read, “The sabotage politics which BJP used to do with others is now doing the same to BJP, is now subjected to internal politics.”

Yadav’s statement came amidst the ongoing events in UP as Maurya, at the Executive Meeting, stated that no government is bigger than the organisation. “I am first a party worker, then a Deputy CM.” “Sangathan se badi koi sarkaar nahi hoti…har ek karyakarta hamara gaurav hai.. (The organisation is bigger than the government, no one is above the organisation. Every worker is our pride,” stated the Deputy CM on X soon after he addressed the meeting on July 14.

Who is Keshav Prasad Maurya?

Keshav Prasad Maurya, born on May 7, 1969, to Shyalal Maurya and Dhanpati Devi in Sirathu, Kaushambi district, is a prominent OBC face in Uttar Pradesh politics. Coming from a humble background, he pursued his graduation in Hindi literature from Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayagraj. During his early struggles, he financed his studies by selling newspapers and running a tea shop. He is married to Rajkumari Devi, and they have two children.

Maurya’s political journey began with Bajrang Dal, followed by a significant stint in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and an 18-year association with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), where he was close to Ashok Singhal. He actively participated in movements for Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, cow protection, and Hindu interests, and even went to jail for these causes.

His electoral career started in 2002 when he contested from the Banda Assembly seat but secured only 284 votes. He faced defeats in subsequent elections until 2012, when he won from the Sirathu constituency. In 2014, he became an MP from Phulpur, defeating Samajwadi Party’s Dharamraj Singh Patel. He received 5,03,564 votes against Patel’s 1,95,256.

In 2016, Maurya was appointed the state president of the Uttar Pradesh BJP. Under his leadership, the BJP achieved a landslide victory in the 2017 assembly elections, forming a majority government.

Why is The Deputy CM Upset?

UP’s political observers called the alleged differences a fallout of Deputy CM’s high political aspirations, which were actually never met. Shashikant Pandey, head, department of political sciences, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, said this was not the first time that Maurya’s aspirations came to the fore.

“It was out of his high political aspirations only that Maurya had to be admitted in the hospital for fever, exhaustion and high blood pressure, when, while addressing the reporters BJP leader Amit Shah said that he had left the responsibility to Keshav to choose a suitable contender for the chair of UP Chief Minister. It was under Maurya’s leadership as BJP state president that the party returned to power in UP after 14 years in 2017 and he was among one of the aspirants for the chief minister’s position back then but Yogi Adityanath took the reins,” pointed out Pandey.

Maurya Continued as Deputy CM Despite Losing Sirathu

Pandey said it was only out of his high political aspirations that Maurya continued to be on the post of Deputy Chief Minister in Yogi 2.0 government even after he lost in the 2022 State Assembly Polls. Maurya lost the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll contest to Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Pallavi Patel by 7,337 votes from his stronghold Sirathu constituency in Kaushambi district. According to the Election Commission’s (EC) website, Maurya polled 98,941 votes, while Pallavi Patel, the elder sister of Union minister Anupriya Patel, got 1,06,278 votes. Maurya had won the Sirathu seat in 2012, but had not contested the 2017 polls.

‘Maurya to Possibly Be The State Chief of Party Again’

Some party insiders stated that Maurya has been eyeing the seat of BJP state chief again. “In 2017, the BJP tasted a big victory under Maurya’s leadership as state party president. And if he moves out of the government, he would likely be offered the place of BJP UP chief,” a party insider said.

Sources with the party said that UP’s BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary has also taken the responsibility of the party’s poor performance in 2024 Lok Sabha Polls in the state and has offered to step down. He is likely to submit his resignation from his post in the days to come. Hence, Maurya could be the next BJP chief of UP, said sources.

However, some of the party sources said that the Deputy CM is not happy with his portfolio as he does not hold the important PWD charge any more as he did in the first term of the Yogi Government. Maurya presently has the charge of rural development. Jitin Prasada held PWD charge but now he has moved to Delhi as Minister. The PWD charge is vacant and a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent, which could be another possible reason behind Maurya’s dissent.

SP Chief’s Monsoon Offer

However, whatever the reason, the fact is that the controversy has given enough ammo to the opposition to corner the ruling BJP ahead of the crucial Assembly bye-elections to be held in 10 constituencies in UP. While taking a swipe at the alleged infighting within the Yogi Adityanath government, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on ‘X’ on Thursday, “Monsoon offer: bring 100, form the government.”

The social media post is being seen as an offer to the detractors of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to defect and form a new government. However. this is not the first time Akhilesh Yadav has made such an offer. In December 2022, the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh offered Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak to “bring 100 MLAs and become the CM of the state”.