In pursuit of UP poll leverage, how BJP ally Apna Dal (S) is playing the long game

Looking to expand beyond its core Kurmi base and strengthen its organisation, the Apna Dal (Soneylal) party has been making key appointments for the past month in Uttar Pradesh.
On May 29, the party led by Union Minister Anupriya Patel appointed Dalit leader R P Gautam, who hails from the Jatav community, as its state president, and on June 16, it tapped Prayagraj-based youth leader Ammad Hassan to lead its youth wing. In addition to this, the party recently also appointed coordinators for each of the 403 Assembly seats in UP. Sources said the new appointments were an attempt to showcase the party's strength in the run-up to founder Sone Lal Patel's birth anniversary on July 2 and set the ball rolling for the panchayat polls in 2026.
Anupriya Patel and state Cabinet Minister Ashish Patel, her husband, have been conducting monthly party meetings in Lucknow to take stock of the organisational overhaul. Anupriya has also started publicly pushing for a separate Union Ministry for OBCs and highlighted the party's strategy to reach out to various OBC communities to create a broader vote bank.
Sources said the efforts were all in preparation for the 2027 polls, and the BJP ally wants to be in a position to go solo if needed and have greater bargaining power.
'We are moving strategically and trying to strengthen our party and its base. In the next few days, you will see more announcements. We are the only party in the state to have a Jatav Dalit state chief. We might not be in a position to take policy decisions directly for the Dalits and OBCs. But we are making attempts to influence policy decisions,' said a senior party leader.
He also said the party's outreach efforts were visible in the issues they were backing 'We are supporting the demand for a caste-based Census, pushing for OBC reservation in central schools and NEET examinations … Our leader Anupriya Patel ji is pushing with a fresh demand for a separate OBC Ministry,' the leader said.
Newly appointed state president Gautam told The Indian Express that efforts were on to expand the party and strengthen it at the grassroots. 'Our pitch will be centred on social justice and upliftment of the deprived sections,' he said.
After Anupriya took over the party in 2009, Apna Dal (S) saw its best performance in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, when it won 12 seats.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Apna Dal (S) contested two seats. Patel retained her Mirzapur Lok Sabha constituency by more than 37,000 votes, but the party lost Robertsganj.
In a bid to course correct, and to be on surer footing, the party dissolved all of its units and started building its organisation from scratch after the polls. On April 14, the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, the Apna Dal (S) launched a statewide membership drive.
The panchayat polls, which are due early next year, will be the first test for the party after the revamp. Even though the panchayat polls in UP are not contested on party lines, political parties directly or indirectly extend their support to candidates. This time, the party has decided to extend support to candidates in a more official and structured manner, according to insiders.

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