No hard bargain with BJP to remain in alliance: Apna Dal

LUCKNOW: The Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (Sone Lal) has dismissed speculations about party bargaining hard with the BJP leadership to keep the alliance intact in the run-up to UP assembly elections due next year. The Apna Dal (S) has been BJP's ally since 2014 Lok sabha elections when the saffron party began its juggernaut under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.
"BJP se koi demand nahi rakhi gayi hai...mil ke chunav ladenge (We have not put forth any demand before the BJP.We will contest the forthcoming UP elections together)," said party's working president and Anupriya's husband, Ashish Singh Patel, while speaking to TOI. His statement was a strong pointer to the Kurmi-dominated political outfit, with a significant influence in Vindhya and east UP region, continuing its ties wit the BJP to take on the aggressive opposition in the high-stake 2022 UP elections.
The development comes three days after Anupriya met senior BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, stoking speculations about Apna Dal (S) putting forth hard terms before the saffron party, including a berth in the Union cabinet as well as in UP where cabinet expansion seems imminent after recent meetings of CM Yogi Adityanath with PM Modi, Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda.
Apna Dal (S) stance also comes amid resurfacing of the feud within the Patel family with Anupriya's sister and Apna Dal leader Pallavi Patel reaching out to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in an apparent bid to frame up a new political alignment to trouble the BJP which seeks another term in office next year. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Apna Dal chief and Anupriya's mother Krishna Patel had merged her party with the Congress to contest as grand old party candidate from Gonda. The move, however, proved a failure as Krishna not only lost the elections but also had her deposits forfeited.
Anupriya, who was a Union minister in Modi-1 government, turned out to be a gainer once again in 2019 parliamentary elections. While Anupriya won from Mirzapur, her party candidate Paukori Lal Kol won from tribal-dominated Robertsganj seat. This was a year after Ashish Patel got elected to legislative council with the backing of BJP in 2018.
Apna Dal's political positioning has once again trained the political spotlight on the Kurmis which account for around 24% of the total OBC block. Both BJP and the Samajwadi Party have been vying for this vote bank. The saffron party made its intentions clear when it appointed Swatantra Dev Singh, a Kurmi, as UP BJP chief soon after 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The SP, too, has been banking on the image of its state president, Naresh Uttam Patel, a Kurmi, especially after the death of samajwadi stalwart and party's Kurmi face Beni Prasad Verma in 2020. BJP and SP bid to consolidate Kurmi comes in sharp contrast with the strategy of BSP chief chief Mayawati who recently expelled her party veteran Kurmi leader and party MLA from Katheri (Ambedkarnagar), Lalji Verma, on charges of anti-party activities.