LUCKNOW: Union Home Minister Amit Shah charged the previous SP, BSP and Congress dispensations of depriving the poor and backward sections of their rightful.
Amit Shah was addressing a gathering at an event anchored by Apna Dal (s) chief and minister in Modi cabinet Anupriya Patel to mark the 74th birth anniversary of her father and founder of Apna Dal here on Sunday.
Shah reiterated that the upcoming general elections would be fought by BJP along with allies Apna Dal (s) and NISHAD party to win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Shah described Apna Dal (S) as a strong partner of the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh that had consistently thwarted the nefarious bid of SP and BSP to orchestrate division in society for electoral gains.
"BJP-Apna Dal have been winning the previous elections (two Lok Sabha and two Uttar Pradesh assembly elections) because we have fought unitedly and cohesively. We have to do it again," he said.
Shah’s rhetoric marked BJP's bid to project a united front with its allies for countering an aggressive opposition in the run-up to the high-stakes 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
While claiming that during SP, BSP and Congress rules, the deprived and downtrodden did not get their right, Shah said that PM Modi had accorded constitutional status to backward classes during his nine-year tenure. He claimed that it was the first time that as many as 27 OBC ministers got a berth in the Union cabinet.
Significantly, the event to mark the birth anniversary of Apna Dal founder Sonelal Patel is an annual affair organised by the Apna Dal (S) workers and leaders every year. This year, just ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, all the senior BJP leaders including Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, both the deputy CMs—Keshav Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, state Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Industry minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, Jal Shakti minister Swantantra Dev Singh and UP BJP chief Bhupendra Patel and other allies including Union minister and RPI chief Ram Das Athawale, and NISHAD party president Sanjay Nishad, were invited and their presence on the dais was a reflection of the status of Apna Dal (S) in NDA.
Apna Dal (S) has its clout among the backward sections including the Kurmis who make up a significant 4 per cent of the total electorate in UP.
Anupriya Patel, herself a Kurmi by caste, is a Member of Parliament from Mirzapur. Apna Dal (S) has two MPs in Lok Sabha.
The party had been tying up with the BJP for the last four elections – 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha and 2017, 2022 Assembly -- in Uttar Pradesh.
