Lucknow: Pallavi Patel, who leads Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), said her party might team up with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. This news came after Apna Dal (K) ended its partnership with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and decided to fight the Lok Sabha elections on its own.
Apna Dal (K) plans to compete for seats in Mirzapur, Phulpur, and Kaushambi in the upcoming elections. Interestingly, Pallavi Patel’s sister, Anupriya Patel, is the current MP from Mirzapur and leads Apna Dal (Sonelal).
Pallavi Patel said, “We’re not talking to the BJP right now, but we’ll think about it if they ask us.” This move follows SP President Akhilesh Yadav’s statement that Apna Dal (K) and SP were only allies for the 2022 Assembly elections, not for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Pallavi Patel responded to Yadav’s words by saying he was wrong about having full control over the PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) votes. She mentioned that he only had 35% of those votes and said if there was to be an alliance, they should have discussed it.
There have been visible tensions between SP and its former allies for some time now. Earlier, Pallavi Patel, an Apna Dal (K) leader and SP MLA, didn’t vote for two SP candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls in February. She said SP didn’t follow its PDA formula while choosing candidates. She later said she voted for the only Dalit candidate among the three SP nominees. Before the 2022 state elections, SP formed an alliance with smaller parties like Apna Dal (K), RLD, Mahan Dal, and SBSP. However, RLD and SBSP have now joined the BJP, and Mahan Dal has supported the BSP, leaving SP with only Apna Dal (K).
Apna Dal (K) was once part of Apna Dal, founded by OBC leader Dr Sonelal Patel. Another faction, aligned with BJP, is led by Anupriya Patel, who is a Union minister. In the 2019 elections, BJP won all three seats claimed by Apna Dal (K). Despite that, Pallavi Patel, a senior leader of Apna Dal (K), won in the 2022 Assembly polls under the SP banner, defeating Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.