BJP Leader Brajesh Pathak Sworn In as New Deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh, Who is He?

BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya retained his berth as the deputy CM in the state.

As Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister for a historic second term, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak took oaths as the deputy chief ministers of the state.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

As Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister for a historic second term, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak took oaths as the deputy chief ministers of the state.

While Maurya retained his ministerial seat, Brajesh Pathak, who served as the law minister is Yogi's anterior cabinet, replaced erstwhile deputy CM Dinesh Sharma to become one of the new deputy CMs of the state.

Here is what we know about the two ministers-

Brajesh Pathak's Ascent in UP Politics 

Pathak entered politics as a student leader from Lucknow University in the 1980s, before foraying into the national political scene.

The 57-year-old leader held a membership to the Bahujan Samaj Party till 2017, where he was a close aide to party leader Satish Chandra Mishra.

On the eve of 2017 Assembly elections, Pathak tendered his resignation and defected to the BJP. The leader went on to get elected as an MLA from the Lucknow Central seat, and was subsequently granted a ministerial berth in Yogi Adityanath's cabinet.

Pathak has steadily come to light as the Brahmin face of the saffron party in UP, with his most recent elevation to the deputy CM being seen as a move aimed at keeping the Brahmin community gratified ahead of the crucial elections in 2024.

His meteoric rise in a party which is based on cadres, has ostensibly ruffled feathers, with senior leaders claiming that he has got "too much too soon", IANS reported.

Last year, the BJP leader had courted controversy when he wrote a letter to Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, and the Principal Secretary, Medical Education, drawing their attention to Yogesh Parveen, the celebrated author, who died before he could get medical attention.

He had begun the letter by saying, "At present, the status of health services in Lucknow is a matter of grave concern", issuing a warning to the administrative medical health officials.

More About Keshav Prasad Maurya

Maurya, who is a prominent OBC face of the saffron party, lost from the Sirathu Assembly constituency to Pallavi Patel earlier this month.

Sirathu had been a stronghold of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) until it was won by Maurya in the 2012 UP Assembly election.

The longtime BJP leader has been in the midst of several controversies in the past, and repeatedly made polarising comments, evidently targeting the Muslim community.

In December last year, Maurya was heard saying, "Before 2017 elections, how many lungi-clad goons used to roam around in here? Who in skull-caps would be scaring and threatening businessmen brandishing guns? Who used to encroach upon your land and threaten you to not go to police?"

In an interview with BBC Hindi earlier this year, the Deputy CM had gotten visibly agitated at the interviewer when he was asked about the genocidal calls made against Muslims at Haridwar’s 'Dharam Sansad', and had ended the interview by throwing off his mic.