Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said that the resignations from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls was "not a big deal."
"Resignations are not a big deal in Uttar Pradesh. BJP is getting support from everywhere in the state. People will bless us and BJP will be successful in forming the government in UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur," Narendra Singh Tomar was quoted as saying by ANI.
Amid a spate of resignations from the BJP, two MLAs of its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) also quit their party Thursday in the run-up to the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. Chaudhary Amar Singh, the MLA from Shohratgarh seat of Siddharthnagar, told PTI that he has resigned from the party after a meeting with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.
Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA RK Verma, who represents the Vishwanath Ganj seat of Pratapgarh, also announced that he is leaving the party.
Earlier on Thursday, Dharam Singh Saini became the third minister on Thursday who has resigned from the Yogi Adiyanath government in the last three days. The spate of resignations began with Swami Prasad Maurya quitting the cabinet. Dara Singh Chauhan had resigned as minister on Wednesday.
BJP MLAs Mukesh Verma, Vinay Shakya, Avtar Singh Bhadana, Roshan Lal Verma, Brijesh Prajapati and Bhagwati Sagar resigned from the party earlier.
Avtar Singh Bhadana has joined Rashtriya Lok Dal, which is an ally of the Samajwadi Party.
Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls in seven phases on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3 and 7. The results will be declared on March 10.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
