Keshav Prasad Maurya back as Yogi's deputy despite poll rout

Despite having lost the recent assembly elections, Keshav Prasad Maurya's continuation as UP deputy chief minister speaks volumes about his popularity and hold over the backward classes, whose crucial support was instrumental in the Bharatiya Janata Party retaining power in the state.

IMAGE: Keshav Prasad Maurya takes oath as the deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, March 25, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

The 52-year-old leader lost from Sirathu by nearly 7,000 votes, leading to speculation over his likely omission from the new Yogi Adityanath-led government.

But the party reposed its faith in him.

Coming from a humble background, Maurya's political career started during the Ram temple movement under the guidance of Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Ashok Singhal.

BJP insiders say Maurya helped his parents in agricultural work, ran a tea shop and also sold newspapers in his early days.

He also remained a pracharak of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal for 18 years.

Though his electoral journey witnessed early defeats, Maurya won from Sirathu seat as a BJP candidate in 2012.

Maurya came into the limelight in 2013, when he led a protest against the arrival of a Christian missionary in a college of Allahabad.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he was fielded by the party from Phulpur and won the seat with a record number of votes.

His real test came in 2016 when he was made the state president of the BJP and he undertook extensive tours of the state to muster the support of the backward classes.

His hard work paid off as the BJP defeated the ruling Samajwadi Party in the elections, winning 312 of the 403 seats, with the allies chipping in with 13 more seats.

Maurya was made the deputy chief minister in the previous government, after which he resigned from Parliament and was elected to the upper house of the state legislature.