Keshav Prasad Maurya

On 8 April 2016, on the first day of Chaitra, he was appointed the Bharatiya Janata Party chief of Uttar Pradesh.[1][2] A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he also participated in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.[1] Born in 1969, in Sirathu in Kausambhi district, adjoining Prayagraj, Maurya went on to study Hindi Literature at the Hindu Sahitya Sammelan in Prayagraj.[3] Besides being a politician, Maurya is also the owner of several institutions, which includes, a hospital, a petrol pump, an agro trading company and Kamdhenu Logistics. His asset is spread across Allahabad.[4]

Maurya has been associated with the RSS and the VHP-Bajrang Dal from an early age, holding the posts of Nagar Karyawah and VHP Pranth Sanghathan Mantri, among others. While being active in the gauraksha (cow-protection) movements. He also participated in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. In the BJP, Maurya has been the regional (Kashi) coordinator of the backward class cell and the BJP Kisan Morcha.[1][5] He has contested the 2002, 2007 and 2012 assembly elections, he lost 2002 and 2007 elections but won 2012, and was the sitting MLA from Sirathu assembly constituency before getting elected as MP from the Phulpur seat in 2014 with a thumping five lakh votes and over 52 per cent votes.[3] In April 2016, he was made the state president of BJP in Uttar Pradesh.[6] Under his leadership, the BJP registered a historic victory in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election. After the election results were out, he was considered a strong contender for the post of Chief Minister.[7][8][9] On 18 March 2017, he was appointed the deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.[10]

He became the first MLA of BJP from Sirathu Tahseel in the year 2012. It was the first time when any MLA of BJP was elected from Sirathu Tahseel. And after two and half-years he became the MP from Phoolpur from BJP. He got the ministries of public works department (PWD), food processing, entertainment tax and public enterprises department.[11][12]

Keshav Prasad Maurya, MP, Phoolpur (U.P) and Shri Satyapal Singh Saini, MP, Sambhal (U.P) meeting the Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation.

Maurya was appointed as state president of BJP for Uttar Pradesh, to consolidate the outreach of party among Most Backward Castes.[15][16] Traditionally, the parties active in state, like the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party had support of Yadavs and Jatavs, hence, with appointment of Maurya as its state chief, BJP tried to woo non Yadav OBCs in the state. Maurya worked for connecting these social groups to BJP, and with his efforts, BJP was able to win 312 of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, in 2017 legislative assembly elections. His tenure as BJP's state chief was also helpful in paving the way for entry of another significant OBC leader, Swami Prasad Maurya in BJP, who also joined the party in 2016. After its win in 2017 Assembly election, Maurya was increasingly projected as OBC face of party.[17]

In his first tenure, Maurya remained critical of politics of Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party. In 2019, during a rally, Mayawati urged Muslims to vote for BSP-SP alliance. This statement of hers was criticised by Maurya in a press briefing. Maurya alleged that Mayawati had been using Dalits as 'vote bank', and she has started appeasing Muslims. He also said that Akhilesh Yadav is not loyal and Mayawati shouldn't believe him, pointing towards latter's tussle with Shivpal Singh Yadav.[18] In 2022, Akhilesh Yadav offered Keshav Maurya to cause a defection of hundred MLAs of BJP and join hands with Samajwadi Party. He ensured that Samajwadi Party will provide support to Maurya in such condition, and help him become the Chief Minister, replacing Yogi Adityanath. However, Maurya replied to Yadav that latter should worry about their own MLAs, as they can also defect towards BJP.[19][20][21] Political analysts recorded increased verbal attack by opposition leaders, specially Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Maurya, after his appointment as Deputy CM for his second term, right after losing his seat in 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election. In a press conference, Yadav called Maurya a weak person. It was observed that during this phase of Maurya's tenure, Yadav and other opposition leaders singled him out and reduced their criticism of Yogi Adityanath.[22] Time and again, during his second term as deputy CM, Maurya also criticised Akhilesh Yadav publicly in press conferences for alleged increase in criminal activities during Yadav's premiership of Uttar Pradesh. Maurya also alleged Samajwadi Party of decepting OBCs in the name of social justice.[23]

In first quarter of 2023, Akhilesh Yadav, while speaking to media, called Maurya a Shudra. After this remark, Maurya alleged that Yadav could get him killed, as latter possess hate for him.[24] Maurya was later projected as nationwide OBC face of BJP; he was deployed in various states during assembly elections to increase the mass outreach of the party. The state where he campaigned, included Gujarat in 2022, where BJP registered victory by high margin.[25]

While campaigning in Ahmedabad, Maurya called Congress leaders as "Chunavi Hindus" (election Hindus), he also said that for the BJP, Gujarat is more important than Uttar Pradesh, despite Uttar Pradesh having eighty lok sabha seats, and Gujarat having only 26 seats. At an event organised by Other Language Cell of Gujarat wing of BJP, Maurya said:[26]

“Those whose only aim is to insult Hindus in the country are chunavi Hindus. Look out for them…When elections are around, they go to the temple of Lord Somnath, Lord Ram, Hanuman. You should recall that when the Congress was in power in the country, it had told the Supreme Court that Lord Ram is just imaginary.”
... “Today, what forces the Congress to pay respects to Ram Lalla? The people of the country have known the character of Congress. And therefore, the country is becoming Congress-free.”[26]

After its victory in 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, in order to strengthen its support base among the members of Koeri caste, Maurya was also made a participant of convention celebrating birth anniversary of Mauryan ruler Ashoka in Patna.[27] In 2019, while campaigning for BJP candidate Narendra Mehta in Mira Bhayander constituency in Thane, Maurya said: "Voting for BJP is like dropping Atom Bomb on Pakistan. He also take a dig at other parties by saying that Goddess Lakshmi do not sit on bicycle or palm (election symbols of Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress), rather she sits on Lotus (election symbol of BJP). He also compared BJP's symbol with insignia of development.[28]

Maurya also played significant role in bringing many leaders of Kushwaha community, or those leaders, who were supported by the community in state of Uttar Pradesh, in the fold of BJP, soon after his elevation as the chief of Bharatiya Janata Party for Uttar Pradesh. One such example is of Member of Legislative Assembly from Agra Rural constituency, Hemalata Diwakar Kushwaha, who, though herself being a member of Schedule Caste Dhobi community, was supported by members of Kushwaha community in Agra constituency due to her marriage with Tikam Singh Kushwaha. It was reported that Kushwahas were supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh earlier, but BJP followed a strategy of elevation of leaders from this caste to higher position, after raising Maurya as its state unit chief, in order to placate the community.[29][30]

By 2023, Maurya was also made a part of campaigns of Bharatiya Janata Party in other states, where he was made a participant in several caste rallies. In June 2023, Maurya addressed a Grand Assembly (Mahasangam) of Mali caste in Jaipur. This assembly was attended by several notable community members from the caste cluster of Maurya, Kushwaha, Mali and Saini, which included Shobha Rani Kushwaha and former cabinet minister of Rajasthan, Prabhu Lal Saini. However, during his address, Maurya had to face sloganeering in favour of Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, which caused disruption to his speech.[31] These campaigns of Maurya was a part of BJP's strategy to build an alliance of similar caste groups in Rajasthan, like it did in Uttar Pradesh.[32]

Maurya with Nitin Gadkari and Yogi Adityanath.

Maurya was involved in cow protectionism in his early days, while working as a member of various right wing Hindu organisations. In an interview given to The Hindu, he supported the decision of Uttar Pradesh government of imposing National Security Act on those killing cows. He believed that, in the rule of BJP, the already existing cow protection legislation in the state were being implemented stringently. According to Maurya, the strict implementation of the provisions of NSA on those guilty of cow-slaughter will prevent others from doing so.[33]

• Samrat Choudhary
• Upendra Kushwaha