It seems like BJP allies are not in a mood to stay soft at the Saffron Party. In the latest Development, BJP Uttar Pradesh allies – the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Apna Dal (Sonelal) on Monday threatened to walked away if the Saffron party did not change its attitude to smaller parties in the alliance in Uttar Pradesh. The development came hours after its Assam Ally AGP, Ason Gana Parishad, with having different views on the Citizenship Amendment Bill choose to walk away from the BJP led coalition government in Assam.
Backward Classes Welfare minister and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar gave the BJP a 100-day ultimatum to fulfil his demands of implementing reservation within the 27 percent OBC quota, while Apna Dal (S) coordinator and Union Minister Anupriya Patel said that her party may take “any decision” if the state BJP leadership continued to ignore her party workers.
Earlier, on December 27, Apna Dal (S) had announced that its president Ashish Patel and Union minister Anupriya Patel will skip events led by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh till their indifferences with the BJP are resolved, a day after the party voiced its frustration over the treatment of smaller NDA allies.
While SBSP Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar as quoted by English newspaper The Indian Express said, “Every time there is an election, the BJP gets votes with help from allies. Later, they refuse to take the allies along. The Apna Dal has come to know this now but I know it for last 21 months”. Rajbhar added that “Be it the Shiv Sena, Upendra Kushwaha or Ram Vilas Paswan, none of them are in an understanding with the BJP at present, he said at the sideline of an event in Lucknow.
Issuing an Ultimatum for 100 days to BJP, Rajbari said, “If they do not implement our quota demand, I will part ways with the BJP. The committee (Social Justice Committee) report is already with the Chief Minister and he should implement that,” he said.
A four-member social justice committee has reportedly recommended that 79 OBC communities should be subdivided into three categories. As per the recommendation, the categories should be Backward Class, Most Backward Class, and Extremely Backward Class with respectively seven percent, 11 percent, and nine percent reservation.
While BJP’s other ally, Apna Dal (S) has been reportedly upset with the BJP for a long. Last Month, Ashish Patel, President of Apna Dal(S), said that the big allies should give due respect and importance to the small parties hinting towards possible ignorance by BJP. He said that the leaders and workers of the small parties are hurt if not given due importance.
Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of her party office at 1-A Mall Avenue, Anupriya said her party did not have complaints with the central BJP leadership but rather with the party unit in UP.
Differences between two becomes more evident after Yogi Government in the state has not invited Anupriya Patel, who is also the Union Minister of State for Health, for inaugurations of medical colleges.
Reportedly, Apna Dal(S) is likely to join ‘Bhajpa Bhagao, Bhagwan Bachao Yatra’ led by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in January to expose BJP in Uttar Pradesh before Lok Sabha 2019.
The Bhartiya Janta Party is facing stiff resistance presently with its allies deserting Coalition. RLSP led by Upendra Kushwaha also parted away from BJP led Alliance in Bihar and joined forces with UPA. TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu early this year separated its path from the alliance led by the Saffron Party. And recently AGP in Assam.