Highlights
- Dara Singh Chauhan is a resident of Azamgarh
- He held the Forest and Environment portfolio in UP cabinet
- Earlier, Swami Prasad Maurya, a prominent OBC leader, joined SP
Former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Dara Singh Chauhan, who recently quit the state council of ministers, joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Sunday. Chauhan, a resident of Azamgarh, is the sitting MLA from Madhuban Assembly seat in Mau district.
Big jolt to BJP
On January 12, Chauhan quit the Yogi Adityanath cabinet, giving a jolt to the BJP in the poll-bound state. He did not attend a Samajwadi Party event on Friday. He is the second minister to resign from the state cabinet after Swami Prasad Maurya tendered his resignation on January 11.
Chauhan held the Forest and Environment portfolio.
"Dalits, those backwards and deprived did not get justice in the present government. That's why I'm quitting the cabinet," Chauhan said.
Maurya, a prominent OBC leader, joined the Samajwadi Party along with another rebel minister Dharam Singh Saini on January 14.
Five BJP MLAs and Apna Dal (Sonelal) leader Amar Singh Chaudhary, who is an MLA from Shohratgarh, also joined the SP in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The other BJP MLAs who joined the Samajwadi Party are Bhagwati Sagar (Bilhaur in Kanpur), Roshanlal Verma, Vinay Shakya (Bidhuna in Auraiya), Brijesh Prajapati (Tindwari in Bahraich) and Mukesh Verma (Shikohabad in Firozabad).
They were given SP membership at its office here.
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