'Government doesn't win...': Maurya's fresh statement amid UP BJP rift
What's the story
In a sign of increasing friction within the Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh leadership, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Monday that it is the party, not the government's strength, that wins elections.
"Was there a BJP government in 2014? Did we win the (Lok Sabha) elections or not? In the 2017 (UP Assembly elections), were we having the government? Did we win or not?," Maurya said in an address to party workers in Lucknow.
Party strength
Maurya statement on party's role in election victories
"When we had won, there was no government, and when the government was there, we felt that we can do it on the strength of the government...It is always the party which contests the elections, and it is the party which eventually wins it," he added.
Maurya's statement is viewed as a continuation of his previous comment that "the organization is always bigger than the government," made after the Bharatiya Janata Party's lukewarm performance in state during the general elections.
Future strategy
Alleged rift out in open
The ongoing rift between Maurya and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been evident for some time, especially after the BJP's inability to replicate its successes from the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP secured 33 out of 80 seats, a drop from 62 in 2019, while the SP won 37 seats.
Additionally, BJP allies in UP have expressed dissatisfaction with the Yogi government, with national presidents issuing letters and public statements.
Video controversy
Controversial video sparks further speculation
During his speech, Maurya also urged party workers to focus on the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
"Forget the mistakes...which were committed in 2024...and work to ensure a historic win in the 2027 UP Assembly elections," he said.
Additionally, a purported video of Monday's event shared on social media claimed that as Adityanath was about to enter, both deputy CMs, Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, left the dais.
However, a senior BJP leader present dismissed the video as "fake.