In final lap, BJP banks on allies to fight SP-Cong

The BJP, after criticising the SP-Congress alliance calling it as a sign of weakness, is now dependent on its two allies in the last phases of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The saffron party has given about 20 seats to Apna Dal (Anupriya) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) led by Om Prakash Rajbhar.

The Apna Dal, which is a Kurmi-centric party, has been given seats in Varanasi, Mirzapur, Sonebhadra, Siddhartha Nagar, Jaunpur that have a sizeable number of Kurmi votes. The Apna Dal (Anupriya faction) has proved its influence by achieving a 100 per cent success rate in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The undivided Apna Dal had contested two seats and won both.

The party, which has now split into two, will face its first test in the last two phases of the assembly elections.

Union minister Anupiya Patel will find her candidates pitted against those fielded by the rival faction, headed by her mother Krishna Patel.

Anupriya Patel, who is the MP from Mirzapur, had been appointed Union minister last year because the BJP wanted to consolidate its position among non-Yadav OBCs, led by Kurmis.

The BJP has been projecting her as the OBC face of the government and her presence at the Prime Minister’s functions in eastern UP is proof of her growing stature.

The SBSP, meanwhile, has been given seats in Ghazipur, Varanasi, Mau, Ballia, Kushinagar, Jaunpur and Azamgarh.

The SBSP, led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, claims to have the support of the Rajbhar community and has been politically active since 2005 but has not been able to win even a single seat either in Assembly or general elections.