Ramdas Athawale SAID RPI (Athawale) is an integral part of the NDA (File)
Union minister Ramdas Athawale has requested the BJP to make his Republican Party of India (Athawale) an ally in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand.
In a letter to BJP president JP Nadda, Mr Athawale said the BJP should expand the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to keep smaller parties together and that the RPI (Athawale) wishes to work as an ally of the BJP in the Assembly elections scheduled for 2022.
Noting that people across the country know that the RPI (Athawale) is an integral part of the NDA, Mr Athawale said in Uttar Pradesh the party can help in cutting votes of the Bahujan Samaj Party as the two parties share a common Dalit support base.
"My personal request to you is that if RPI (Athawale) is made an ally of Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh, then it will help in cutting the votes of BSP.... If 8-10 seats are given to RPI by BJP, then BJP will get indirect benefit too," the Union Minister of State of Social Justice & Empowerment said.
"Therefore, I request you to give some seats to RPI (Athawale) by providing an opportunity to work as an ally in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. It is my personal request to you to give some seats to RPI (Athawale)," he wrote.
The terms of the legislative assemblies of Manipur, Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand are coming to an end in March 2022, while the term of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly is scheduled to end in May.
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