Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, passed over for the top job in the state in favour of Yogi Adityanath, on Monday bubbled with exuberance after receiving a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi enquiring how he was recuperating from Covid-19.

Maurya’s effusive social media posts, a “rare” call from Modi involving matters of personal well-being and the timing of the telephone conversation prompted many to float tantalising theories at a time the Adityanath administration has been besieged by allegations of high-handedness and protests demanding the chief minister’s removal, particularly in the aftermath of the Hathras atrocity.

Some BJP leaders ventured as far as to compare Maurya’s advantages with Adityanath’s perceived shortcoming and assert that the latter is not “fit for an administrative job”.

Maurya, who was on Monday hailed by some in the BJP as a more mature politician, tweeted: “Despite being very busy, the brilliant Prime Minister, respected Narendra Modiji, asked me over the phone today morning about my health and gave me necessary directions with regard to my health. I am proud of our supreme leader. A current of new energy flowed in my body when you asked me about my wellbeing.”

Maurya, who tested positive for the coronavirus two days ago, laced his tweets with the hashtag “ModiPoochaHaal”, or “Modi has asked how I am doing”.

BJP sources said it was an open secret that Adityanath and Maurya did not get along. They also pointed to the sudden twist of fate in 2017 when Maurya was widely believed to be the BJP frontrunner for the chief minister’s post but the party sprung a surprise by selecting the saffron-clad Gorakhpur MP and temple mahant, pulling him out of local politics and disregarding the fact that he was never a state-level leader.

In Delhi at that time, Maurya had fallen sick, complaining of restlessness, and had to be admitted to hospital soon after Adityanath’s ascension to the seat of power was announced on March 16, 2017.

A senior BJP leader said the Prime Minister was not known to have called up other leaders in Uttar Pradesh afflicted with the novel coronavirus.

“Many ministers have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past three months. Two ministers — Chetan Chauhan and Kamla Rani — have died. The Prime Minister never called them or their family members. The Prime Minister has never called Yogi to enquire about personal matters. We see a message in his conversation with Maurya.”

The BJP leader, who requested anonymity, said Adityanath, 48, and Maurya, 51, were in the same age group.

“The deputy chief minister is more mature than the chief minister. The Brahmins and Dalits are very angry with Yogi and they believe that the chief minister is pro-Thakur. The Prime Minister knows that we need to change this perception if we have to win the 2022 Assembly polls. Maurya is an OBC and his reach among the masses is far better than that of Yogi, who has no support base outside Gorakhpur,” the leader said.

With the Assembly elections in the politically crucial state not too far away, a perception is gaining ground that Adityanath’s style of functioning is costing the BJP dearly.

The BJP leader said the “mishandling” of the cases of gangster Vikas Dubey and the gang rape and murder of the Dalit teen in Hathras had “proved that Yogi is not fit for an administrative job”.

“It is also no secret that Maurya and Yogi have argued many times over several issues. Modi must be aware of everything and thinking of correcting a wrong,” he added.