Apna Dal (S) leaders approach BJP’s brass amid strained ties

The ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) have come under a strain after the latter’s leader and Uttar Pradesh minister Ashish Patel accused state’s information department and the special task force (STF) of hatching a “political conspiracy” against him.

Patel, who called on UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Friday night, arrived in Delhi on Saturday to meet BJP central leadership. Patel, along with his wife and Union minister of state Anupriya Patel, who is also the Apna Dal (S) chief, is likely to meet Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda, people familiar with the matter said.

Ashish Patel, who is the technical education minister in the UP government, has been accused by his estranged sister-in-law Pallavi Patel — a leader of rival faction Apna Dal (Kameravadi) and Sirathu legislator representing the Samajwadi Party — of irregularities in appointments and promotions in his department.

“All the promotions were done in a transparent manner, the OBC and deprived classes have been given maximum benefit in the promotion. If the chief minister deems fit, he can order a CBI enquiry into the promotions as well as all the decisions taken by me as a minister. My political character assassination should be stopped,” Ashish Patel told reporters after meeting Adityanath, terming allegations against him “conspiracy”.

Patel had on Wednesday claimed there was a threat to his life from the state police’s STF. He said that if any conspiracy or incident occurs during his fight for “social justice”, the responsibility will rest solely with the STF.

The minister’s statement has again brought to fore the discomfort between the alliance partners — the BJP and Apna Dal (S) have been allies since 2014. Earlier, Anupriya Patel had written to the UP government on the alleged flaws of the teacher recruitment policy in the state.

While BJP leaders in the national capital chose to maintain a silence on the latest standoff, a party functionary in Lucknow said that in the Friday night meeting, Adityanath told Ashish Patel that instead of raising the issue on public platforms, he should have taken up the matter with the chief minister.

“The CM told him that as a minister, Ashish Patel should desist from targeting the state government,” the functionary, aware of the meeting details, said, requesting anonymity.

A senior Apna Dal (S) functionary said the party leadership has raised the issue “at the appropriate level” and has also “conveyed” their displeasure at being targeted.

“Before the CM and the minister (Ashish Patel) met and discussed several issues including the recent attempts to malign him and the protest that is being staged as a part of political conspiracy, the Apna Dal (S) leaders reached out to the BJP’s high command, apprising them of the ground realities,” the leader said, declining to be named.

The functionary declined to comment on whether there is a rethink on continuing with the alliance, but indicated that the state government’s lack of response to the latest allegations did not sit well with the leaders.

“The state’s information department could have come out with the facts of the issue as have been clearly listed by the minister. A statement from a department headed by the CM, would have been appropriate,” the functionary said.

This is not the first time the two allies have sparred in public. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Anupriya Patel had drawn attention to the process of recruitment for teachers in the state, pointing out that it was keeping out OBCs and SCs.