Lucknow: Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav’s bonhomie at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan Sunday was widely talked about, but in Uttar Pradesh, tensions between their parties are growing ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. Former UP cabinet minister and OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya’s bid to join the INDIA bloc has become a point of disagreement between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP).
A few days ago, Maurya met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Delhi. Following the meeting, he announced that his Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party wanted to join the INDIA bloc. However, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav ruled out giving him a place in the alliance.
Since then, Congress’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam has held several meetings with Maurya and made statements supporting his inclusion in the opposition alliance. On Monday, Maurya shared a photograph with Gautam on social media, saying the two had discussed strategies for the 2027 state elections.
Before the photograph was posted, Gautam had Sunday told the media that Maurya was part of the INDIA bloc. He added that Akhilesh’s remarks about Maurya could be his personal views, but they would not determine the direction or future of the INDIA alliance.
The Congress sees Maurya, an influential OBC leader, as a potential addition to its social base in Uttar Pradesh. The party is keen to bring him into the alliance to strengthen its outreach among OBC voters. Maurya, meanwhile, wants his party to contest some seats as part of the INDIA bloc rather than merge with another party.
Maurya was associated with the Samajwadi Party until January 2024. However, the party distanced itself from him following his controversial remarks on the Ramcharitmanas and Hindu deities. He subsequently resigned from the party.
Akhilesh is firmly opposed to Maurya’s entry. When asked about Maurya, the former UP CM had clearly ruled out the possibility of him joining the INDIA bloc.
Speaking at a press conference at the SP headquarters in Lucknow last Friday, he had said, “Swami Prasad Maurya is not part of our alliance. Ignore him, avoid him. He cannot be counted in our seat calculations.”
On the other hand, Maurya has launched a sharp attack on the SP chief, even calling him the “number one enemy” of PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak).
Questioning Akhilesh’s commitment to the PDA, Maurya said, “How could a leader who claims to represent Backward Classes, Dalits and minorities treat leaders from these communities in such a manner. When Akhilesh Yadav did not stand by Azam Khan, how can he be expected to stand by me?”
Maurya further alleged that Akhilesh did not like either him or Chandrashekhar Azad, but preferred leaders such as Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani (SP’s Rajya Sabha choice). He also claimed that this attitude was one of the reasons he resigned as the SP’s national general secretary.
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SP questions Congress’s outreach to Maurya
The differences have also triggered a war of words between leaders of the two alliance partners.
Speaking to ThePrint, senior SP leader Udayveer Singh questioned why the Congress was engaging with Maurya despite Akhilesh Yadav having made the party’s position clear. “When our party president Akhilesh Yadav has clearly said that Swami Prasad Maurya will not be part of the alliance, why is the Congress entertaining him? Why is the Congress in-charge making such statements? He had earlier also made a false claim about sending a list of 200 seats. Who did he make this demand from? He has neither met our party high command nor any senior leader.”
He added that the Congress leadership should intervene and stop its leaders from making statements that could create confusion between the alliance partners. “The Congress high command should first step in and restrain leaders who are making incorrect statements. It should consult Akhilesh Yadav on decisions concerning Uttar Pradesh. This is an alliance between two parties, and Akhilesh Yadav will have an important role in deciding who becomes part of it in the state.”
Congress’s UP in-charge Gautam however defended the party’s engagement with Maurya. “Swami Prasad Maurya wants to be part of the INDIA alliance. He does not want to merge his party; he wants seats as part of the alliance. He is a prominent name in Uttar Pradesh’s OBC politics. Why should there be any objection to his inclusion?”
Maurya’s interesting political journey
Born in UP’s Pratapgarh district, 72-year-old Maurya has had an eventful political career, moving across several parties over the decades.
After studying at Allahabad University, he entered active politics in 1980, when he became a member of the state executive committee of the Allahabad Yuva Lok Dal. He served as its general secretary from June 1981 to 1989. Between 1989 and 1991, he was the general secretary of the UP Lok Dal, followed by a stint as general secretary of the Janata Dal (UP unit) from 1991 to 1995.
In 1996, Maurya joined the BSP and became its state general secretary. He was elected MLA from Dalmau in Rae Bareli on a BSP ticket and went on to become a four-time legislator.
In 2002, he was given ministerial responsibilities, and between August and September 2003, he served as Leader of the Opposition. He was also a minister in the Mayawati government between 2007 and 2009. In January 2008, he was appointed the BSP’s Uttar Pradesh president. In 2016, Maurya rebelled against Mayawati and joined the BJP. After winning in the 2017 assembly elections, he became a cabinet minister in the first Yogi Adityanath government.
Ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, he quit the BJP and joined the SP. However, he left the SP in January 2024, and later formed his own political outfit. His daughter, Sanghamitra Maurya, a former MP from Badaun, is still with the BJP.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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