Lucknow . Small parties, which made a splash in the recently concluded assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, are now bargaining with big parties.
These smaller parties, caste-based and with limited influence, contested the elections in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). They have benefited immensely from the bipolar competition.
These parties managed to push back national parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress.
Apna Dal and Nishad Party, both the allies of BJP, have performed well.
Apna Dal won 12 of the 17 seats it contested.
Apna Dal, a Kurmi-centric party, was founded in 1995 by Dr. Sonelal Patel. Later, it split into Apna Dal (Sonelal) led by Anupriya Patel and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) led by his wife Krishna Patel.
The Apna Dal faction led by Anupriya Patel is in alliance with the BJP, while the other faction led by Krishna Patel is in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. (-AnyTV News)
Apna Dal, with 12 seats, is well ahead of the Congress which had to be content with two seats and the BSP which managed only one seat.
According to sources, Apna Dal now wants a bigger share in the government.
An Apna Dal leader said that we should get at least four ministerial posts. We have been with BJP without any bargain and now our contribution should be recognized.
Another BJP ally, the Nishad Party, has won six seats in the state elections.
Nishad Party President Sanjay Nishad is MLC, his son Praveen Nishad is MP and his younger son Sarwan Nishad has been elected MLA.
With his entire family in politics, Sanjay Nishad now wants to be nominated as the Deputy Chief Minister.
They say this is what my community wants and BJP is aware of their sentiments.
Sanjay Nishad had formed the Rashtriya Nishad Ekta Parishad in January 2013 and demanded Scheduled Caste status for Nishads and registered Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) as a political party in 2016.
The Nishad Party had contested the 2017 elections in alliance with the Peace Party and won the Gyanpur seat.
Nishad, who has been vocal about his political ambitions, had openly expressed his disappointment over his son Praveen not being included in the Union Cabinet.
The BJP leader has admitted that he is feeling troubled by Sanjay Nishad who is “politically over-ambitious”.
In the SP alliance, smaller parties are also aiming for big gains, even though the alliance is performing poorly in the assembly elections.
The RLD – a generally reticent political outfit – wants a larger share of seats in the Legislative Council along with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The RLD, however, has said that it wants to continue its alliance with the SP and cannot exert undue pressure.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, which won six seats in alliance with the SP, is already emerging as a potential troubleshooter.
SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar said that he was aware of the defeat of the SP after the first phase, but remained silent for obvious reasons.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has been avoiding meeting with Rajbhar and sources said the alliance may not continue if the SBSP chief continues to make irresponsible statements.
The split faction of Apna Dal led by Krishna Patel has not won any seat, though its leader Pallavi Patel has won Sirathu seat on a Samajwadi ticket.
Krishna Patel would prefer to continue the alliance with the SP without any bargaining as it is necessary for his party to gain a foothold in the state politics.
However, all the smaller parties are now looking forward to the Lok Sabha elections and want a share in the tickets for it.
—AnyTV News
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