BJP Loses 5 In UP, One Minister And 4 MLAs, Likely To Akhilesh Yadav

In a massive hit to the BJP and Yogi Adityanath just before the Uttar Pradesh election, a minister and four MLAs quit today and joined the party's main challenger, Akhilesh Yadav. Swami Prasad Maurya, a top minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, posted his resignation letter on Twitter. In the hours that followed, four more MLAs close to him - Roshan Lal Verma, Brijesh Prajapati, Bhagwati Sagar and Vinay Shakya - announced their resignations.