lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Feb 23, 2019 07:20 IST

The Apna Dal has called a meeting on February 28 to take a call on whether to stay in the National Democratic Alliance or join hands with some other party in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting will take place amid reports that party leaders, Anupriya Singh Patel and Ashish Patel, held talks with Congress general secretary in charge of east UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, at her Delhi residence on Thursday. Anupriya is junior health minister in the Narendra Modi government.

“We have called our party meeting in Lucknow on February 28 to decide which party to ally with for the Lok Sabha elections in UP,” Ashish, Apna Dal president, said. “All our options are open and answers to all questions will come after the meeting.”

He, however, ducked queries on the reported meeting with Priyanka Gandhi. “I am not aware of any such meeting which I was not a part of,” he said. Anupriya could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Officials aware of the matter said the possibility of an Apna Dal-Congress alliance was explored at Thursday’s meeting. The Apna Dal, a crucial BJP ally in UP, has been threatening to quit the NDA for some time, accusing the state BJP as well as the state government of not addressing its demands. The party holds sway over Kurmis, a dominant backward caste, in several districts in UP. It won two seats in 2014—Mirzapur and Pratapgarh -- in alliance with the BJP.