As a rebel faction crops up, BJP's UP ally Apna Dal (S) faces a test
On Tuesday, a day before party founder Sone Lal Patel's birth anniversary, former Apna Dal (S) workers led by Chaudhary Brajendra Pratap announced the formation of the Apna Morcha. In response, the party led by Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel said those associated with the new front had been expelled in 2022 for 'anti-party activities'.
The rebels have claimed the support of 'all party MLAs' and said they would field candidates in the panchayat polls next year and support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2027 Assembly polls. The Apna Dal (S) has been an NDA ally since 2014.
On Wednesday morning, Apna Dal (S) state president R P Gautam wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking the immediate removal of the rebel leaders and their relatives from nominated government posts. He claimed they were re-appointed recently without taking the Apna Dal (S) into confidence. As per his letter, Monika Arya, the wife of Brajendra Pratap Singh, is the Additional Government Advocate for the state administration, while Arvind Bauddh, another rebel leader, is a member of the Purvanchal Development Board.
Gautam requested the CM to remove them from their posts to establish 'mutual trust' and protect his party's interests. This, he said, was necessary to 'maintain dignity' and 'strengthen the feeling of trust and transparency towards the NDA alliance among the workers of Apna Dal (S)'.
However, party leaders said the rebels would not be a threat on the ground. Apna Dal (S) leader and state minister Ashish Patel told The Indian Express: 'These leaders (rebels) were expelled by the party three years ago. This front is part of a bigger conspiracy that keeps cropping up when we plan something big organisationally. These people have no political base.'
But many in the Apna Dal (S) said the rebels could slow the momentum the party had seemed to have picked up in the last couple of weeks. In May, the party made some key appointments and rejigged its organisation. This was an attempt to showcase the party's strength in the run-up to Sone Lal Patel's birth anniversary and set the ball rolling for the panchayat polls.
Anupriya and Ashish have also been conducting monthly party meetings in Lucknow to take stock of the organisational overhaul, with the Union MoS also starting to push for a separate Union Ministry for OBCs, underlining the party's strategy to reach out to various OBC communities and create a broader vote bank.
The Apna Dal (S) recorded its best performance in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, when it won 12 seats. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it contested two seats, with Anupriya retaining her Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat by more than 37,000 votes. The party, however, lost from Robertsganj.
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