After Bihar Churn, BJP Ally In Uttar Pradesh Issue Warnings, Ultimatums

The BJP's setback in the recent round of assembly elections has created ripples among the allies, who have become suddenly restive. In Uttar Pradesh, BJP ally Apna Dal leaders are voicing their grouse about seat share and complaining of unfair treatment. The party has declared that they will boycott all events in Parliament till the differences are sorted out and warned that unless their differences are sorted, the alliance will suffer and the BJP may have its "biggest losses" in Uttar Pradesh.

The complaints from the regional ally come after the churn in Bihar, which saw the exit of Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a couple of weeks ago. Days later, ally Ram Vilas Paswan got his wishlist of extra seats, both for Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Apna Dal has two members in the Lok Sabha, one of them Union minister Anupriya Patel, and nine in the state assembly. The party, which has support among the Kurmis and rose to prominence only in 2014 after aligning with the BJP, is yet to specify how many seats it wants.

Apna Dal's grouse is on the same lines as Mr Kushwaha, another union minister who joined the opposition ranks earlier this month. The Bihar leader, who won three seats in 2014 was being given only two of Bihar's 40 seats, so the larger share can go to Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), which won only two seats in the same election.

Mr Kushwaha had accused the BJP of arrogance.

Apna Dal leader Ashish Patel, the husband of Anupriya Patel, said: "The state BJP leadership isn't giving us the respect we deserve. They should learn from recent losses. The SP-BSP alliance is a challenge for us. Allies in Uttar Pradesh are upset," he said. Demanding that the BJP's central leadership immediately intervene, Mr Patel said unless that happens, the BJP will suffer its "greatest losses" in Uttar Pradesh.

He is not the only ally in the state to openly talk about differences with the state leadership.

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party leader Om Prakash Rajbhar, a minister in Yogi Adityanath's cabinet, has been regularly criticizing the policies of his boss and his party's government at the Centre. In November, the BJP had called Mr Rajbhar a necessary evil.

In 2014, the BJP had won 70 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats. The party had also stormed to power in the state earlier this year, winning 312 of the 403 seats.