Bahujan Samaj Party's veteran leader Swami Prasad Maurya has officially joined Bharatiya Janta Party. BJP chief Amit Shah was also present at the event held at BJP’s central headquarters in New Delhi.
Maurya had call it quits from BSP on June 22 over his rift with the party supremo Mayawati. Maurya, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly when he announced his resignation, was regarded as the OBC face of BSP.
Maurya’s entry in BJP is likely to give a boost in terms of caste based politics. In an apparent attempt to reach out to the caste group, the BJP had earlier appointed Phulpur MP Keshav Prasad Maurya as its state party president.
Besides bolstering BJP’s OBC base, Maurya, who practices Buddhism, could also help the party reach out to disgruntled BSP supporters.