Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had a significant meeting with BJP President JP Nadda on Tuesday. This meeting has sparked speculation due to ongoing rumors of a rift between Maurya and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Following the BJP’s disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the party is strategizing its next steps. Despite the buzz, Maurya remained tight-lipped when leaving the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. Sources indicated that Nadda was also scheduled to meet Uttar Pradesh BJP Chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary.
The precise agenda of the meetings remains undisclosed. However, the timing follows Maurya’s recent remarks at a state party executive meeting, where he emphasized that the party organization holds more significance than the government itself. His comments seemed to critique the state bureaucracy, which has been perceived as neglectful of public issues raised by BJP workers.
In the same conclave, Adityanath attributed the party’s electoral setbacks to overconfidence, noting that while the BJP maintained its vote share, there was a detrimental shift in votes towards the opposition. Adityanath’s leadership style has faced criticism from several party leaders, who have partly blamed it for their electoral losses.
JP Nadda praised Adityanath’s governance, highlighting improvements in law and order and the state’s economic progress over the past decade, placing Uttar Pradesh’s economy second in the country.
In the recent elections, the opposition INDIA bloc, consisting of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, secured 43 out of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha seats, while the BJP-led NDA won 36, a significant drop from their 64-seat victory in 2019. With upcoming by-elections for 10 assembly seats, political analysts are closely monitoring the unfolding developments.
