Two family factions spar on Apna Dal founder’s birth anniversary in Lucknow

Lucknow, July 2 The birth anniversary celebrations of the Apna Dal founder Sonelal Patel on Sunday have not only triggered a fight for the OBC votes between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) alliances in Uttar Pradesh before the 2024 Lok Sabha election but also intensified the feud in Patel’s family.The Apna Dal (Sonelal), a BJP ally, and its rival faction the Apna Dal ( Kamerawadi), an SP ally, have planned respective shows of strength by inviting top leaders to programmes on the occasion.

The two daughters of Sonelal Patel have been at war since long.

Anupriya Patel is a Union Minister in the BJP-led alliance while her estranged sister Pallavi Patel is a SP MLA.

Apna Dal (S) leader and Uttar Pradesh Minister Ashish Patel, husband of Anupriya Patel, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at his party’s programme in Lucknow.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Hindustani Awam Morcha Chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Nishad Party President and Uttar Pradesh Minister Sanjay Nishad and Apna Dal (S) President Anupriya Patel will also attend the programme, he added.

Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, State BJP President Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary as well as senior BJP and Apna Dal (S) leaders will be also present in the event at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, he said.

The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) led by Sonelal Patel’s wife Krishna Patel has invited SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to her party’s event.

“Senior SP-Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leaders will be present at the programme organised by the party,” said Apna Dal (K) General Secretary Pankaj Niranjan.

Both factions vied for the same venue, the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow, for their programmes.

Apna Dal (S) leader Ashish Patel said his party had booked the venue in advance.

He alleged Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) announced its event at the same venue in a bid to steal the limelight.

After denial of permission by the administration at the same venue, the rival faction announced a protest to disturb “our programme," he said.

Niranjan said the party was denied the venue under ‘pressure’ from the ruling alliance and his party would hold the function at the SP auditorium.

“We have decided to raise the caste census and other issues associated with the OBCs in the programme,” he added.

The BJP and SP are keen to keep the two factions of Apna Dal within their fold since it is a Kurmi-centric party and benefits the two political formations.