FAMILY FEUD
In Uttar Pradesh, the Kurmi community is considered the second-most influential OBC (other backward classes) group after the Yadavs. Both the ruling BJP and the principal opposition, the SP (Samajwadi Party), have Kurmi allies—the BJP has the Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (S), while the SP has the Apna Dal (K), led by her mother Krishna Patel, backed by her other daughter, Pallavi. The two factions are presently locked in a family feud to claim the legacy of Sonelal Patel, the founder of Apna Dal. Wife or daughter? Who should inherit the right to claim that they represent the community?
A major flashpoint between the two came over the birth anniversary of Sonelal on July 2 at the Indira Gandhi Pratisthan in Lucknow. Krishna and Pallavi had sharp words for Anupriya, alleging that she and her husband Ashish were behind the application filed by Krishna to host the commemoration being cancelled. Instead, it was the Anupriya-led Apna Dal (S) that did the honours. “Before being a father, Sonelal was a husband. I have the first right over him. Who is she to snatch [away] my rights?” Krishna reportedly asked.
Sonelal was a close aide of Kanshi Ram and a founding member of the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party). He founded the Apna Dal in 1995. After his death, Anupriya contested the 2012 assembly election from Varanasi’s Rohania, winning the seat, and then the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Mirzapur, winning again. The same year, Krishna was defeated in the contest for her daughter’s old seat, Rohania. Sources say this is when a rift first appeared between Krishna and Anupriya, leading to the latter forming her own breakaway party, the Apna Dal (S). In 2022, Krishna Patel’s Apna Dal (K) allied with the SP for the assembly elections, with Pallavi Patel defeating deputy CM Keshav Maurya at the polls.
A source in the Apna Dal (K) says, “Earlier, Anupriya’s faction had more power, because she is a central minister and her husband is a cabinet minister in UP. Now, after defeating UP’s deputy CM at the polls, Pallavi has also gained a lot of traction.” When it comes to the fight over Sonelal’s legacy, Pallavi says, “Every year, supporters commemorate his birth and death anniversaries. This year, the plan was to hold [a celebration] in Lucknow. We sought permission to do so at Ravindralaya, then at Vishveshwarya auditorium and then at Mercury auditorium of the Indira Gandhi Pratisthan.” After permission was denied, Krishna and Pallavi organised protests in Lucknow, which resulted in them being taken into custody.
The fight over Sonelal’s legacy is not a trivial one. Both parties are keen to be seen as the real torchbearers, because that opens the doors to a prosperous OBC community that’s a major electoral factor in over a dozen eastern UP districts, including Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Sonbhadra and Mirzapur. Prof Pankaj Kumar of Allahabad University’s Political Science department says the fight will grow fiercer as the 2024 Lok Sabha polls approach—and both factions seek a stronger leverage during alliance talks.
Who inherits the legacy of Sonelal Patel? Wife or daughter? It’s a critical question: it opens the door to a powerful OBC group.