Prayagraj/Lucknow, Feb 4 (PTI) Indicating strains in the opposition alliance, Apna Dal(K) on Friday said it has “given back” the seats allotted to it as part of the seat sharing agreement with the SP and has asked they ally to first “satisfy its own people” seeking tickets.
The Samajwadi Party, however, said there is no dispute with Apna Dal(K) regarding ticket distribution and such “minor issues” will be resolved soon.
The seats returned by the Apna Dal(K) include the Sirathu assembly constituency from where party’s Pallavi Patel would be contesting against BJP leader and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
This is the first sign of trouble in the SP-led opposition alliance which is aggressively positioning itself against the BJP in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
After holding discussions on seat sharing with the Samajwadi Party, we released the first list of 50 per cent candidates, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) general secretary Pankaj Niranjan Patel told PTI.
“But there is pressure from SP leaders on some of the seats leading to confusion. We have given back all the seats, including Sirathu to the Samajwadi Party, keeping in view the interests of everyone, so that they can satisfy their people by giving them seats first,” he said.
“If any seats are left, they can give them to us, otherwise don’t give us a single seat. We will continue to work for the alliance without contesting elections,” Patel said.
“So far, there has been no reply from their (SP) side as to which seats they will be contesting on. We are waiting for their reply,” he added.
Asked whether SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had finalised Pallavi Patel’s candidature for Sirathu seat, he replied in the affirmative.
Pallavi Patel is elder sister of Union minister Anupriya Patel.
February 8 is the last date for filing nomination at Sirathu and other constituencies in and around Prayagraj, where Apna Dal (K), a rival of the party headed by Anupriya Patel, has support.
Meanwhile, SP’s chief spokesperson and national secretary Rajendra Chaudhary said there is no dispute between the two parties regarding ticket distribution.
“The minor issues are being resolved through talks. This issue concerns the top leadership of both the parties and there is nothing to worry about,” Chaudhary said.
Apna Dal (K) is an offshoot of BJP ally Anupriya Patel’s Apna Dal and is headed by her mother Krishna Patel.
Pallavi Patel was named a candidate from Sirathu and the announcement reportedly did not go down well with local Samajwadi Party leaders.
Pallavi Patel is also said to be not keen on contesting against BJP’s Maurya.
The Apna Dal (K) has influence among backward caste voters across the state and Muslims in eastern and central Uttar Pradesh. PTI RAJ SLM SAB SNS RHL
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
