Ashish Patel, President of Apna Dal(S), an ally of BJP in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday said that the big allies should give due respect and importance to the small parties. He said that the leaders and workers of the small parties are hurt if not given due importance.
He expressed his pain over BJP-led state government’s indifference towards his wife Anupriya Patel, who is also the Union Minister of State for Health. He claimed that she was not even invited for inaugurations of medical colleges.
He also cautioned the saffron party that a tie-up between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh would pose a challenge to it in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Asserting that Apna Dal(S) has widened its base during the last five years, he said that the number of seats the party will contest in the upcoming General Elections would be announced when the time comes.
Patel said that the defeat of BJP in the Hindi heartland is the matter of concern. He also said that the BJP leadership should review the poll outcome in-depth. He told about his wish to see Narendra Modi as the prime minister again after the Lok Sabha Polls.
He warned NDA over the BSP-SP alliance by saying that it would pose a challenge before BJP. He said that the members of NDA should discuss the scenario and strategy to deal with the BSP-SP alliance. He also expressed concern over the slipping law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.
Lately, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RSLP) Chief Upendra Kushwaha also walked out of the NDA and stepped down as the Union Minister. In March this year, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) broke its four-year-old alliance with the NDA when BJP-led Centre refused to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.