A Cabinet Minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh has said that the Chief Minister would be decided by the party’s central leadership if the BJP wins again in the 2022 Assembly polls.
The comment by State Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Sunday reflects the reported difference of opinion within the State BJP regarding the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, who was chosen as Chief Minister by the central leadership in 2017.
The BJP had contested the 2017 polls without a CM face and largely on the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The questions now is if the party would enter the polls with the promise of a second term for the head priest of the Gorakshnath temple in Gorakhpur or keep the option open. The reluctance of first Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and now Mr. Swami Prasad Maurya, to name Mr. Adityanath as the face of the campaign indicates disquiet within the ruling party.
Responding to questions by journalists, Mr. Swami Prasad Maurya said the central leadership would choose the Chief Minister. “We will accept whoever comes,” he said.
