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India Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Can BJP keep dissent-hit, peeved ally Apna Dal (S) in embrace?
Uttar Pradesh regional outfit Apna Dal (S), in a show of strength last week, lined up all its MLAs and senior leaders on stage to mark the birth anniversary of party founder Sone Lal Patel. At the July 3 event in Lucknow, party vice-president and state minister Ashish Patel not only targeted rebels, who had recently broken away, but also fired indirect salvos at ally open demonstration of power has sparked speculation about the Apna Dal (S) preparing to exit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and whether it will join the Opposition combine for the assembly elections in party is in a crisis after some founding members and leaders, led by Brajendra Pratap Singh, recently announced a new outfit, 'Apna Morcha', and claimed the support of nine of the 13 Apna Dal (S) Apna Dal (S), which is headed by Union minister and Ashish Patel's wife Anupriya Patel, hit back, saying these leaders had been expelled back in 2022 for anti-party activity. However, the new front went a step further, declaring it would field candidates in the upcoming panchayat polls and support the NDA in the Uttar Pradesh assembly mounting, Apna Dal (S) state president R.P. Gautam wrote to chief minister Yogi Adityanath to remove the rebel leaders and their relatives from government-nominated posts in order to restore mutual trust in the there has been growing talk that after indirectly targeting the BJP, Ashish Patel may step down as the state's technical education minister. At the event on July 3—attended by 12 of the 13 party MLAs—he had questioned the BJP's commitment to the alliance. He alleged a conspiracy against Apna Dal (S) because of its growing support base and warned of attempts to destabilise the party, including through false legal next day, Ashish Patel quit as Apna Dal (S) working president and was appointed national vice-president, adding to more speculation about the equation within the Patel, in her message, urged Apna Dal (S) workers to stay prepared, saying that the coming days would be crucial. In a pushback to the dissenters, she underlined that the party remained united and firm on its the BJP, the timing and public nature of the rift could pose a challenge. The Apna Dal (S) has been one of its most reliable allies in attracting Kurmi OBC votes in Uttar Pradesh. Kurmis are about 6 per cent of the population of Uttar Pradesh and comprise about 35 per cent of the OBCs in the Apna Dal (S) was formed in 1995 by Sone Lal Patel, also a founding member of the Bahujan Samaj Party, to champion Kurmi representation. He died in 2009. Anupriya first became Union minister in the Narendra Modi government in 2016. Ashish Patel is its own minister in the Adityanath the longstanding association, open attacks on the BJP by senior Apna Dal (S) leaders, internal rebellion and past family disputes risk weakening the equation. As the Apna Dal (S) prepares for assembly elections two years away while signalling frustration with its partner, the BJP faces the delicate task of keeping its ally in embrace without letting these tensions affect its own image among OBC voters in the state. advertisementSubscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
The Print
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
UP Info dept with Rs 1,700-cr budget used to ‘break' Apna Dal—BJP ally Ashish Patel's dig at Yogi govt
In a strongly worded social media post, Patel launched a scathing attack on his own government and the media by alleging that a section of the press is operating under 'pressure' from the Yogi Adityanath government to spread false narratives and create confusion within Apna Dal (S), a party which has a considerable sway among the Kurmi OBC caste. Ashish Patel's attack comes in the wake of a group of dissident leaders launching a new political outfit called Apna Morcha after parting ways with the Apna Dal (S), a BJP ally in the state and at the centre. Lucknow: Union minister Anupriya Patel's husband Ashish Patel, himself a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, has accused the Yogi Adityanath government's information department of trying to destabilise his party Apna Dal (Soneylal) by 'pressuring' a section of the media to run false and misleading stories about dissension in the party. He claimed the information department has been allocated a huge budgetary outlay to pursue this objective. 'What kind and how much pressure does a Rs 1700-crore budget of the information department exert! Ask a section of the media about what they have to write and do under this pressure. They have to show the Apna Dal (S) is falling apart every day,' he said in a post on X in Hindi. 'Sometimes they have to run stories about nine MLAs defecting, sometimes they have to host news of 12 MLAs switching sides. They are under quite a heavy compulsion,' he claimed. He went on to throw further taunts at the media, giving them 'unsolicited but sensible' advice. 'Don't go through this hassle everyday. Just today, once and for all, break the Apna Dal (S) into as many parts as you want. Nine MLAs or 12 MLAs—assign them to whichever party you wish. And for the satisfaction of your heart, go ahead and write that the Apna Dal (S) no longer exists.' 'That way, the entire hassle ends, those pressuring you will be happy, and the Rs 1700-crore budget of the information department will have been properly utilised. You also won't have to act like slaves to baseless statements and false information from politically dead leaders every single day.' He then asserted the Apna Dal (S) has been nurtured with the sweat and blood of millions of the marginalised and oppressed, and the party has fought such conspiracies and its workers are well-trained to do so. 'The Apna Dal is not a fragile house of cards, but a kind of grass that sprouts even in adversity.' He ended his post with a poem of resolve penned by Mahakavi Pash. 'Main ghaas hoon, main aapke har kiye-dhare par ug aaunga. Bomb fenk do chahe vishwavidyalay par, bana do hostel ko malbe ka dher, suhaaga phira do bhale hi hamari jhopadiyon par, mujhe kya karoge? Main to ghaas hoon, har cheez dhank loonga, Har dher par ug aaunga. Main ghaas hoon, main apna kaam karoonga, main aapke har kiye-dhare par ug aaunga. (I am grass. I will sprout back on everything you do. Throw bombs at the university if you must, reduce the hostel to a heap of rubble, smash our huts to pieces if you wish, but what can you do to me? I am grass — I will cover it all. I will sprout from every heap. I am grass — I will do my work. I will grow back over everything you do.' Also Read: Why Raj Kumar Pal stepped down as UP chief of Apna Dal (S), a '2-personality show' The beginning of current crisis On 1 July, a group of Apna Dal(S) dissidents including its former general secretary Arvind Singh Patel, spokesperson Chaudhary Brajendra Pratap Singh Patel, youth wing chief Hemant Chaudhary and almost a dozen Kurmi caste leaders declared the new outfit Apna Morcha as the 'real voice' of Apna Dal (S). Addressing reporters, these leaders launched a scathing attack on the current leadership of Apna Dal (S), accusing it of sidelining and humiliating founding members and long-time party workers. They also said both Anupriya and Ashish Patel were ignoring Kurmis in the party. The morcha leaders also claimed to be in touch with nine current MLAs of Apna Dal (S). Earlier this year, Raj Kumar Pal resigned as the Apna Dal(S) state president after accusing the Patels of neglecting him and mistreating party workers. As per sources, Pal has not joined the rebel morcha as he is in talks with the Samajwadi Party. Ashish Patel said all these are part of a 'gameplan'. 'There is a clear conspiracy against our party. After some rebels formed a morcha, we wrote to the chief minister to remove two rebels as the members of the Purvanchal Vikas Board but that did not happen. We also got inputs that these rebels have the back up of some power centres. We understand this whole gameplan against us. Now, we will not stay silent,' he told ThePrint. This is not the first time that Ashish Patel has attacked the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government. In January this year, he not only accused then Uttar Pradesh director of information Shishir Singh and chief minister's media advisor Mrityunjay Singh of tarnishing his image by 'planting false stories', but he also dared the Amitabh Yash-led Special Task Force (STF) to shoot him in the chest 'if they have the guts'. Patel was facing flak from his sister-in-law Pallavi Patel for alleged irregularities and corruption in promotion of candidates in technical education department, which he heads as the minister. His wife and Apna Dal (Sonelal) national president Anupriya Patel has also been targeting the Adityanath-led government for some time. Just after the Lok Sabha poll results in 2024, she wrote to him, alleging that reserved seats meant for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) had been 'unreserved' during the government recruitment process. The letter came in the backdrop of the BJP's relatively weak performance in the Lok Sabha polls and the concern among the coalition partners about SC and OBC voters shifting to the Opposition bloc. Both husband and wife always praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in their speeches but avoid taking the name of Yogi Adityanath. In Uttar Pradesh, Kurmis are considered the second largest OBC group after Yadavs, holding significant political influence across various regions of the state. Given their importance, the BJP cannot afford to lose a key ally representing this community. Though chief minister Aditynath has not responded to this issue yet, a senior functionary at the chief minister's office said, 'The matter is essentially a tussle between the Centre and the state. While Anupriya and Ashish Patel enjoy a strong rapport with the central leadership, their relations with the state leadership are strained. As a result, they are now being used as pawns to tarnish the image of the state government.' (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Behind Apna Dal (S) naming a Dalit UP chief, a bid to cut into BSP's voter base
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
As a rebel faction crops up, BJP's UP ally Apna Dal (S) faces a test
One of BJP's key allies in Uttar Pradesh, the Apna Dal (Soneylal) finds itself in a tough spot in the state because of a rebel faction that has floated a separate outfit. 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.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Rebel faction crops up, BJP ally Apna Dal (S) faces test
One of BJP's key allies in Uttar Pradesh, the Apna Dal (Soneylal) finds itself in a tough spot in the state because of a rebel faction that has floated a separate outfit. On Tuesday, a day before party founder Sone Lal Patel's birth anniversary, former Apna Dal (S) workers led by Brajendra Pratap Singh announced the formation of the Apna Morcha. Singh claims to be the convener of the rebel outfit. 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.
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Rebel leader: 9 MLAs of AD(S) ready to quit
Lucknow: Rebel Apna Dal (S) functionary Hemant Chaudhary on Tuesday claimed that nine MLAs of Anupriya Patel-led party were ready to quit. He made the claim during a press conference of rebel AD (S) leaders who have formed "Apna Morcha". Chaudhary, a former chief of Apna Dal (S) Yuva Morcha, said the AD(S) MLAs were feeling suffocated in the party. Chaudhry has recently formed his own Rashtriya Jan Sardar Party. "Hardly three to four MLAs attend party meetings. This shows the level of resentment within the party," he said. Apna Morcha convener Brijendra Singh Patel accused the AD(S) leadership of misusing its power to usurp the party once formed by Jawahar Lal Patel. He said that Anupriya betrayed the Kurmi community and the party workers who toiled hard to resurrect the party. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
