After the 26-party Opposition meeting in Bengaluru, the politics of Uttar Pradesh has started revolving with Pallavi Patel, Vice-President of Apna Dal (Kameravadi) and MLA from Sirathu, saying that she will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024 with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and that the seat-sharing arrangement will be done at an appropriate time.
She further said that she views Samajwadi Party as an elder brother in Uttar Pradesh. “We had slowed down the speed of NDA during the 2022 assembly polls and this time too, we will oust the NDA from power in the 2024 Parliamentary polls”, she said. As UP has about 6 per cent of Kurmi population, the statement of Pallavi Patel assumes significance. There are about four dozen assembly seats and 8 to 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state on which the Kurmi community plays a decisive role.
In UP, the influence of Kurmi community is on about two dozen districts, out of which in about 15 districts, their number is around 12 percent. If Pallavi Patel is able to make inroads among these voters, then she can cause a big loss to the NDA. However, it has been seen in the last election that Apna Dal (S) in NDA, headed by Anupriya Patel, has got a big advantage by being with them. This has increased the inclination of Kurmi voters towards BJP.
Keeping this in mind, Akhilesh Yadav wants to make a dent in that vote bank by aligning his party with Kameravadi. At the same time, Kurmi wanted to attract voters to his side by citing OBCs. As Apna Dal has once again openly announced to contest with Akhilesh Yadav on behalf of Kameravadi, it will be interesting to see what will be the result of this in the coming Lok Sabha elections
