Swami Prasad Maurya meets Rahul Gandhi ahead of polls

Several leaders in UP are exploring new alliances and opportunities to remain relevant in the upcoming elections.

On Saturday, former state minister Swami Prasad Maurya met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi to explore the alliance possibilities.Maurya has been a minister in BSP and BJP governments in the state. In the wake of the 2022 assembly elections, he resigned from the BJP to join the SP. He could not win the election and later left the SP to launch his own party named 'Apni Janata Party'.

Also Read: Land, rights, exams: Rahul Gandhi launches ‘Satyagraha’ as platform for protest movements


His political fortune has been dwindling ever since he left the BJP and Maurya is trying to gain some foothold in UP. After meeting Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi at 10 Janpath, Maurya said he would become part of the INDIA bloc but would not merge his party.

His daughter Sanghmitra Maurya was a BJP MP from Badaun Lok Sabha in UP from 2019 to 2024. After Maurya quit the party, Sanghmitra remained with the BJP but was denied a ticket in 2024.

Along with Maurya, ex-MLA from Mant in Mathura Shyam Sundar Sharma also met Rahul and joined Congress. Sharma represented Mant eight times, last in 2017 as BSP MLA. In 2022, he lost the seat to BJP candidate Rajesh Chaudhary. Sharma is now hoping to get the seat in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.