BJP ally in UP strikes warning note

On a day when the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the BJP's ally in Assam, withdrew its support to the government, another ally of the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh struck a warning note on Monday threatening to sever its ties unless the latter "mend its ways" and "treats" it with "respect".

The Apna Dal (AD), a predominantly caste-based outfit, which had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the BJP and had won two seats, said that it could take any decision if the situation continued.

"We tried to resolve the outstanding issues through closed-door consultations...we were forced to come out in the open only after our efforts failed," Apna Dal president Ashish Patel told reporters here.

"It is sad that we are being meted out such a treatment...we had stood by the BJP when it was not in power," he added.

Patel clarified that his party had "problems" with the UP government and not with the Centre.

According to sources, the differences between the AD and the BJP cropped up after the former demanded around a dozen seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The AD, which is a party of 'Kurmis' (an OBC), wield considerable influence on the community, which formed around 4% of the total electorate in UP and played a decisive roles in around a dozen Lok Sabha constituencies, mainly in about half a dozen districts in eastern part of the state.

The Sueheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, another alliance partner of the BJP in UP, had already warned to sever its ties with the saffron party if not given its "due" in the 2019 elections.