With bypolls for four MLC seats, 2 UP ministers' fate hangs in balance

Lucknow, Aug 25 : With the Election Commission (EC) releasing the schedule for the bypolls for four legislative council seats in Uttar Pradesh, the fate of two ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government hangs in the balance.

The bypolls will take place only for four seats while the contenders are five -- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, Minister of State for Transport Swatantra Dev Singh and Minister of State for Minority Welfare Mohsin Raza.

All the five need to be members of either House of the state assembly by September 19, which is the stipulated constitutional deadline of six months.

But with the poll panel only releasing the schedule for four seats, one will be left out, leaving no option but to resign as minister.

The big question doing the rounds here is will this person be Swatantra Dev Singh or the lone Muslim face in the BJP-led state government?

Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party said there were two possibilities before the party high command.

Either Mohsin Raza will be asked to resign and the BJP will take the risk to allow opposition leaders label the party as anti-minority or name Swatantra Dev Singh, a known organisational man, to head the state unit as its President.

"We are working on many things, the picture will be clear soon," said a BJP office bearer who did not wish to be named.

It is almost certain now that out of Singh and Raza, one minister would be dropped on or before September 19.