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.
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.
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.
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