Keshav Prasad Maurya is trailing by 6,000 votes
BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is trailing Samajwadi Party candidate Pallavi Patel from the Sirathu assembly constituency. Mr Maurya was trailing by over 6,000 votes. Sirathu voted in the fifth phase of the UP assembly elections on February 27.
Here are 5 things about Mr Maurya:
1) He is facing a tough challenge from Ms Patel, a leader of Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) who is contesting from Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party. She is the sister of Union Minister Anupriya Patel who is the Union Minister of State for Trade and Commerce and heads the Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the BJP.
2) For Mr Maurya, a prominent OBC face for the BJP, winning from the Sirathu seat in the Kaushambi district is crucial to his political career. He contested the 2002, 2007 and 2012 assembly elections and is the sitting MLA from Sirathu assembly constituency.
3) During the 2014 general election, he contested from the Phulpur parliamentary seat in Allahabad district and scored a major victory. He got over 52 percent vote share.
4) In April 2016, Mr Maurya was made Uttar Pradesh BJP president. And in March 2017, he was appointed the deputy chief minister of the state. He has handled the portfolios of the public works department, food processing, entertainment tax and public enterprises department.
5) Mr Maurya has been associated with the RSS and the VHP-Bajrang Dal from an early age. He has held key posts such as Nagar Karyawah and VHP Pranth Sanghathan Mantri.