New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, but saw a drop in seats compared to the previous elections, as well as several top leaders bite the dust. The biggest casualty suffered by the saffron brigade was Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who lost Sirathu in Kaushambi district to his Samajwadi Party rival, Pallavi Patel, by a margin of 7,337 votes.

Keshav Prasad Maurya's defeat is one of the most embarrassing situations for the BJP as he is one of the most influential leaders in the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP and number 2 to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. While Pallavi Patel received 1,06,278 votes and 46.49 per cent vote share from the Sirathu seat, the deputy CM Maurya bagged 9,89,41 votes and 43.28 per cent vote share.

All you need to know about Pallavi Patel:

Pallavi Patel is the elder sister of Anupriya Patel, who is the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in PM Modi's cabinet and heads the Apna Dal (Sonelal). Pallavi is a doctor by profession and had studied doctorate after graduating in Bio-Technology. Pallavi had entered politics and initially assisted her father Sonelal Patel, who founded the Apna Dal (Sonelal). After her father's death, Pallavi's mother Krishna Patel became the president of the party and her sister Anupriya became the general secretary of the party.

In 2014, Apna Dal President Krishna Patel made Pallavi the Vice President of the party. However, younger sister Anupriya Patel opposed Pallavi's appointment as the vice-president. Anupriya alleged that there is no post of Vice President in the party's constitution, hence Pallavi's appointment is unconstitutional. The dispute between the Anupriya and Krishna Patel factions in the party escalated and reached the Election Commission. In 2016, the party split into two factions.

The faction supporting Anupriya Patel and her husband Ashish Patel is Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the faction supporting Krishna and Pallavi Patel is Apna Dal (Communist). Anupriya Patel's party was with the BJP in this election, while Krishna Patel's party supported Samajwadi Party.

In October last year, Sonelal Patel's youngest daughter Aman Patel had written a letter to the Director-General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, accusing the eldest sister Pallavi Patel of grabbing her father's property. However, mother Krishna Patel denied all accusations against Pallavi and said that his son-in-law, Anupriya Patel's husband, and BJP are creating a divide in her family. 

Other BJP leaders who suffered defeat in Uttar Pradesh Polls 2022:

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Rural Development was defeated by Samajwadi Party's Jai Prakash Anchal from the Bairia constituency by 12,951 votes.

Sports Minister Upendra Tiwari lost the polls from the Phephana constituency, losing to Samajwadi Party's Sangram Singh by a margin of 19,354 votes.

Cabinet Minister Rajendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as Moti Singh, also lost the elections from the Patti seat to Samajwadi Party's Ram Singh by a margin of 22,051 votes.

Sugarcane Minister Suresh Kumar Rana was defeated by Rashtriya Lok Dal's Ashraf Ali Khan by a margin of 10,806 votes in the Thana Bhawan Assembly.

Education Minister Satish Chandra lost to Samajwadi Party's Mata Prasad Pandey in Itwa by 1,662 votes.