After the exit of several key OBC leaders, including Swami Prasad Maurya, Dara Singh Chauhan and Om Prakash Rajbhar, days ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is now dependent almost completely on the Apna Dal and the Nishad Party for the votes of the community in the state, especially in the 'Poorvanchal' (eastern) region.
Apna Dal (AD) claims to have a support base among the 'Kurmi' community, and the Nishad Party (NP) claims to wield considerable influence over the 'Nishad' (fishermen, boatmen) community.
However, the AD's claim of a complete hold over the 'Kurmi' community has been challenged by the party national president Anupriya Patel's mother Krishna Patel, who has formed her own outfit, Apna Dal (Kameravadi), and allied with the Samajwadi Party (SP), BJP's main rival in the assembly polls in the state.
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The mother and daughter have been fighting for the legacy of Sonelal Patel, Krishna Patel's husband, who had formed the AD in 1985 after leaving the BSP.
As both Anurpirya and Krishna Patel would be vying for the 'Kurmi' votes, there is every possibility that there might be a division in their votes, which could hit the BJP's electoral prospects in the region.
The NP, which was the other OBC ally of the BJP, too was not alone in claiming the support of the 'Nishad' community. In fact, there were several local leaders from the community in different parts of the state, who also made similar claims. And to add to the BJP's discomfort, the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), which was an NDA ally in Bihar and represented the community, had also decided to field its candidate in the forthcoming polls on the seats where 'Nishads' were in sizable strength.
VIP president Mukesh Sahni, who was a minister in the NDA government in Bihar, calls himself 'son of mallah' (son of boatman) could queer the pitch for NP, with whom the BJP was currently holding talks for seat sharing.
Besides, the NP found itself on a sticky wicket as its demand for the inclusion of the community in the list of the scheduled caste (SC) and giving them reservation in government jobs was yet to be fulfilled by the BJP government. NP president Sanjay Nishad had to face the anger of the community members during a rally of the party in the state capital, where Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah also spoke.
Irked over not getting assurance on the reservation issue by Shah, the community members created a ruckus at the meeting and went on a rampage, damaging chairs and disrupting the speeches by their leaders.
It remains to be seen if these OBC allies of the saffron party are able to offset the loss of the likes of Maurya and Rajbhar in the forthcoming polls.
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