Lucknow: The BJP is not worried about the defection of nearly a dozen MLAs, including three ministers, and the crowds attending Akhilesh Yadav’s rallies. The BJP national leadership has shifted its focus to Uttar Pradesh, smelling the danger of OBC leaders leaving the party en masse. The BJP on Wednesday announced its allies in the polls amid uncertainty. BJP president JP Nadda has announced that he will contest all 403 seats in alliance with Nishad’s party and Apna Dal (S).
The influential Apnadal and Nishad party among the OBC communities in eastern Uttar Pradesh are old allies of the BJP. Apnadal has been an ally since 2014. The Nishad party has been in alliance with the BJP since 2019. But the BJP has now given greater acceptance to both parties than ever before.
The BJP national president today announced the alliance for the forthcoming assembly elections by uniting the leaders of both the parties. However, no decision has been taken on the division of seats. Leaders say the division of seats will take place after further discussions.
Union Minister and Lok Sabha MP Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel has described the BJP-Apnadal-Nishad alliance as a great blend of development and social justice. The NDA government in UP is addressing the problems of the backward classes which have not been resolved for 70 years. Nishad’s party leader Sanjay Nishad said, “We need to continue.
Last week, a group of backward class leaders left the BJP. Following this, the BJP has forged ties with influential allies of the backward classes. It is noteworthy that these leaders also spoke about the NDA government’s work for the backward classes in the alliance declaration.
‘JP Nadda and Yogi Adityanath met allied leaders Anupriya Patel and Sanjay Nishad. The people of UP are blessed with the NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We will form a government with a large majority here ‘, Amit Shah tweeted about the alliance.
Last week, the BJP lost three ministers and a dozen MLAs in 72 hours. Most of these MLAs went to the Samajwadi Party. The BJP was in crisis due to some caste equations in Uttar Pradesh and criticism leveled by outgoing MLAs.
Meanwhile, the BJP retaliated by bringing a member of Akhilesh Yadav’s family to the party. Akhilesh Yadav’s half-brother Pratik Yadav’s wife Aparna Yadav joined the BJP on Wednesday. In the 2017 elections, Aparna Yadav contested on the SP ticket but lost. Aparna lost to Rita Bahuguna, who defected from the Congress to the BJP.
With the election looming, the national leadership has tightened its grip on the campaign in UP. Top BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah and National President JP Nadda, will begin their tour of Uttar Pradesh from the third week of January, BJP sources said. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be held from February 10 to March 7 in seven phases.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s 30-member list of star campaigners has also been released. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the star campaigners. The party’s national president JP Nadda is second. The list also includes Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, state president Swatantradev Singh, Dharmendra Pradhan, Smriti Irani, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Dinesh Sharma, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Sanjeev Balyan and Radhamohan Singh.
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