The Samajwadi Party (SP) on April 1 said the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) and AIMIM alliance for the Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh has been orchestrated by the BJP to divide secular and pro-democratic votes in the state.
The SP said the PDA (pichda, Dalit and alpsankhyak, or the backwards, Dalits and minorities) are solidly behind the INDIA bloc and are aware that such alliances are attempts to make the BJP victorious.
“They (Apna Dal and AIMIM) were reading the BJP’s script. The alliance has been formed to help the BJP by dividing PDA votes. But secular and pro-democratic people are aware and will not fall into the trap. The voters have made up their minds to unseat the BJP from power and such tactics will yield no result,” SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhary told The Hindu.
Mr. Chowdhary said Pallavi Patel, the Apna Dal (K) leader and daughter of party chief Krishna Patel, should relinquish the membership of the Assembly as she had won on the SP symbol in the 2022 Assembly polls from the Sirathu seat. “What is the point of still remaining an MLA from SP when she has parted ways,” asked Chowdhary.
Apna Dal (K) and AIMIM, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, on March 31 announced the formation of the PDM Nyay Morcha, describing it as a political front for justice for the pichda, Dalits and Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.
PDM resonates with the PDA pitch designed by former Apna Dal (K) ally SP.
A few days ago, Apna Dal (K) broke ties with the SP over seat-sharing after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the alliance with Apna Dal (K) was only for the 2022 Assembly election. The announcement came after Apna Dal (K) unilaterally declared to fight the Lok Sabha seats of Mirzapur, Kaushambi and Phulpur under the INDIA bloc.
Founded by Krishna Patel’s late husband Sonelal Patel, Apna Dal had earlier seen a vertical split with one faction, Apna Dal (Sonelal), led by elder daughter and Union minister Anupriya Patel, and the other led by Ms. Krishna and Ms. Pallavi. Both factions claim to enjoy considerable support among the Kurmi community in pockets of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Kurmis, who belong to the OBC, have a sizeable presence in 10 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh.
