This story is from January 21, 2017

In UP, small allies with big ambitions give BJP heartache

As negotiations with the Apna Dal faction of Anupriya Patel and Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party continue, BJP has been forced to postpone release of its second list of candidates even as notification for the first phase of assembly polls has been issued.
In UP, small allies with big ambitions give BJP heartache
Apna Dal, led by Anupriya Patel, is among the allies involved in hard bargaining with the BJP. (TOI Photo)
Key Highlights
  • BJP continues to negotiate with the Apna Dal faction of Anupriya Patel and Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party for the UP polls.
  • Due to this, the party has been forced to postpone release of its second list of candidates even as notification for the first phase of assembly polls has been issued.
NEW DELHI: Political minnows with the support of a few castes and confined to certain pockets in Uttar Pradesh are giving BJP a tough time as the saffron outfit looks to finalise its remaining candidates for the heartland state.
As negotiations with the Apna Dal faction of Anupriya Patel and Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party continue, BJP has been forced to postpone release of its second list of candidates even as notification for the first phase of assembly polls has been issued.

The party’s central election committee (CEC), in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and other leaders, had finalised a list of around 150 candidates for UP on Thursday night and it was to be announced on Friday. However, the party had to put the announcement on hold due to hard bargaining by the two allies, which are seeking a far higher share of seats than the saffron party is willing to spare. BJP has announced only 149 candidates for UP so far.
Leaders of the two allies - Anupriya Patel and Om Prakash Rajbhar - are camping in Delhi and holding meetings with senior BJP leaders with their wish-list of constituencies in eastern UP. Patel had a brief meeting with BJP vice-president Om Prakash Mathur on Friday.
Sources said Patel and Rajbhar have sought close to 30 seats each as per the population of the castes which constitute their core support base. While the Kurmi caste to which Patel belongs holds sway in around 5-6 districts in the Varanasi-Pratapgarh region, the Rajbhar community is spread over 7-8 districts in eastern UP.
Patel is a Union minister and her party had won two Lok Sabha seats as a BJP ally whereas Rajbhar recently joined hands with the party and was instrumental in organising successful rallies of top BJP leaders in the eastern region. Rajbhar had shared the dais with BJP president Amit Shah during the latter’s Mau rally a few months ago.

Disappointed with the BJP’s offer of two-three seats, Rajbhar has reportedly opened channels with others, including Samajwadi Party and BSP. Sources said it would not be possible for BSP supremo Mayawati to accommodate him as she has finalised candidates for all 403 constituencies but SP could still consider allying with him.
However, this could also be a bargaining tactic from Rajbhar which BJP could ignore. BJP sources said the party had spared several seats for local allies during the Bihar assembly polls like Ram Vilas Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha but they were of little help as the alliance was drubbed by the RJD-JD(U)-Congress combine.
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