LUCKNOW: With the high-stakes 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election on the horizon, internal conflict within the Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (S) has escalated sharply. The party has now urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to remove two expelled rebel leaders from their positions in the state government.Apna Dal (S), a Kurmi-dominant party and an ally of the NDA, has its national president Anupriya Patel serving as a minister in the Modi cabinet, while her husband and the party’s vice-president, Ashish Patel, is a minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led state cabinet.In a letter addressed to CM Yogi on 2 July, Apna Dal (S) state president RP Gautam Jatav sought the removal of Monika Arya from her role as an additional government advocate and Arvind Baudh from the Purvanchal Vikas Board. Gautam alleged that both Arya and Baudh were expelled from the party three years ago on charges of indiscipline and for allegedly acting against the principles and policies of the party.In a sharply worded message to the UP government, Gautam expressed dismay that the tenure of the two rebel leaders was extended “without even taking the party high command into confidence”.The letter came a day after rebel Apna Dal (S) members, including Arya and Baudh, held a press conference accusing the party leadership of deviating from its founding principles. They alleged that Anupriya Patel had betrayed the Kurmi community and the workers who had strived to build the party.Notably, Arya is the wife of rebel leader Brijendra Singh Patel, who also accused Anupriya Patel and Ashish Patel of “misusing power to usurp the party once formed by Jawahar Lal Patel”.
Source link
