This story is from May 16, 2019

Family feud may split Kurmi votes in Mirzapur and Robertsganj seats

When Sone Lal Patel founded Apna Dal in 1995 after breaking away from BSP, then led by Dalit leader Kanshi Ram, little did he know that his party would be in complete disarray 20 years down the line.
Family feud may split Kurmi votes in Mirzapur and Robertsganj seats
Picture used for representational purpose only
LUCKNOW: When Sone Lal Patel founded Apna Dal in 1995 after breaking away from BSP, then led by Dalit leader Kanshi Ram, little did he know that his party would be in complete disarray 20 years down the line.
Founded to cater to the interests of OBCs, essentially Kurmis, who account for a sizeable chunk of voters in east UP, the Apna Dal touched a high point in 2014 when it tied up with BJP and managed to bag two seats — Mirzapur (won by Sone Lal’s elder daughter Anupriya Patel) and Pratapgarh (won by Kunwar Harvansh Singh).
This was when Sone Lal’s widow (he died in a car crash in 2010) Krishna Patel was the party president.
Cut to 2019: Krishna and her son-in-law Pankaj Niranjan are contesting on Congress tickets from Gonda and Phulpur seats, respectively, while daughter Anupriya, who formed Apna Dal (Sone Lal) in 2016, is seeking re-election from Mirzapur as BJP’s ally.
Now, both Krishna and Anupriya stake claim over core workers of the original Apna Dal. “I may be a Congress candidate, but core workers of Apna Dal helped me in my election campaign. I hope to win,” Krishna told TOI. Refusing to comment on her daughter’s prospects, Krishna said: “She (Anupriya) has formed her own party. There is nothing to say about her”.
The Apna Dal (Sone Lal) too is hoping to get the support of core workers. “It is a matter of political presence. We have the original party symbol (cup and saucer) and representatives in Lok Sabha, members in both houses of UP assembly and two ministers. That is enough to provide a strong base to any political party. That is also the reason behind our party getting support from foot soldiers of original Apna Dal,” said spokesperson Arvind Sharma.

Nevertheless, political experts say, the estranged relationship will cause a split in the Kurmi vote bank, mainly in Mirzapur and Robertsganj from where Anupriya and Pakauri Lal Kol are in the fray, respectively.
This was not the case when Anupriya won the Mirzapur seat in 2014 by a margin of over 2 lakh votes. She was then an MLA from Rohaniya assembly seat in Varanasi and had to resign, necessitating a bypoll.
Anupriya had wanted her husband, Ashish Singh, to fight the by-election. However, the Apna Dal’s governing body, headed by her mother Krishna, decided that Krishna should herself be the candidate. Apna Dal sources said this was done to limit the influence of Anupriya and Ashish in party affairs.
The simmering family feud came out in the open in October 2014 when, during Rohaniya by-election, Anupriya not only failed to campaign for her mother, but allegedly worked actively to ensure Krishna’s defeat.
In a revenge of sorts, Krishna removed Anupriya from the post of party general secretary.
In 2015, Anupriya and six of her associates were expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities. Anupriya formed Apna Dal (Sone Lal) and got it registered with the EC on December 14, 2016. She subsequently contested the 2017 assembly elections as a BJP ally.
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