LUCKNOW: In the wake of the series of defections, mostly by those belonging to the backward class, the BJP allies such as Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (S) and Sanjay Nishad-led NISHAD party are finding themselves in a bargaining position with big brother BJP. The allies are now seeking to increase their share in the seats for upcoming assembly elections.
Both Anupriya Patel, a minister of state in Modi cabinet, and Sanjay Nishad along with his son Praveen Nishad, a BJP MP from Sant Kabir Nagar, had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday evening in New Delhi.
As per the sources, Anupriya Patel has demanded over a dozen seats this time -- half of them from eastern UP where her party is believed to have the core clout and the rest in the Bundelkhand region.
Significantly, BJP had swept the Bundelkhand region during the 2017 Assembly elections. The party had done fairly well in the region in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well.
Consequently, the BJP is finding itself in a fix as far as the Apna Dal (S) demand for the Bundelkhand region is concerned. “If the BJP concedes to the demand of Anupriya Patel, how will it accommodate its own sitting MLAs in the region,” says JP Shukla, a senior political commentator.
At the same time, other NDA constituents including NISAHD, Ram Das Athawale-led Republican Party of India and Janata Dal (U) are also mounting pressure over seat distribution on the BJP.
In 2017 state assembly elections, BJP had given 11 seats to Apna Dal (S) and the party having its clout among Kurmis walked away with nine seats. The seats where Apna Dal emerged victorious are are Sewapuri (Varanasi), S(Jaunpur), Chhanbe (Mirzapur), Duddhi (Sonbhadra), Sohratgarh (Siddharthnagar), Jahanbad (Fatehur), Pratapgarh Sadar, Vishwanathganj (both Pratapgarh) and Soranwan in Prayagraj. The Apna Dal (S) had lost just two seats -- Pratappur and Handia -- in Prayagraj.
Apart from the above-mentioned seats, Apna Dal has demanded around a dozen seats across the Awadh region. “Every party wants to spread its wings. We have put forth our demand before the BJP. Now the ball is in their court,” said Ashish Patel, Anupriya’s husband and working president of Apna Dal (S).
Meanwhile, NISAHD party chief Sanjay Nishad demanded seats in double digits. “We have forwarded our demand to the BJP. We hope that we will get seats in the double digits. I am confident that the seat-sharing will be finalized in a day or two,” said Nishad who has recently been sent to the upper house of UP legislature by the BJP.
Athawale of RPI had demanded at least 10 seats and the Janata Dal-U, with which BJP has the state government in Bihar, wants to fight over 3-4 seats in the alliance.