UP Election 2022: OBC leader Dharam Singh Saini becomes 3rd minister to quit Yogi Adityanath cabinet in 3 days

Samajwadi Party chief shared a picture with Dharam Singh Saini on Twitter.

Uttar Pradesh minister Dharam Singh Saini resigned on January 13 from his post, becoming the third minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet to snap ties with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), ahead of the state assembly polls.

Saini,  a four-time legislator from Nakud in Saharanpur, is the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ayush, Food Security, and Drug Administration. The OBC leader cited the same reason “neglect of backward” for his resignation.

READ | Congress releases first list of 125 candidates for Uttar Pradesh polls; mother of Unnao rape victim among the names

Saini, earlier with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), had joined the BJP in 2016.  Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav shared a picture welcoming Saini indicating the minister's next step.

‘सामाजिक न्याय’ के एक और योद्धा डॉ. धर्म सिंह सैनी जी के आने से, सबका मेल-मिलाप-मिलन करानेवाली हमारी ‘सकारात्मक और प्रगतिशील राजनीति’ को और भी उत्साह व बल मिला है। सपा में उनका ससम्मान हार्दिक स्वागत एवं अभिनंदन!

बाइस में समावेशी-सौहार्द की जीत निश्चित है! #मेला_होबे pic.twitter.com/2FDkLLNW93

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— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 13, 2022

Earlier in the day, Saini returned the security cover and residence allotted to him by the state government setting off speculation about his defection from the BJP.

Also read: Another MLA quits BJP in UP; 7 resignations in 3 days

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh has been witnessing a string of defections over the last few days. The series of resignations begin with cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya who quit the post on January 11.

Maurya was followed by another minister Dara Singh Chauhan and five BJP lawmakers – Brijesh Prajapati, Roshan Lal Varma, Bhagwati Sagar, Mukesh Verma and Vinay Shakya. Overall, eight MLAs, including three ministers, have resigned from BJP in UP in the last three days.