The Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, touted as the second most important elections in India are about to begin. While the main fight is being seen between BJP and SP, BSP and Congress are two other influential parties in the fray.?
However there are smaller political parties having influence over small sections that will enter the ring in upcoming elections. Most of these parties will be contesting the elections in alliance and have already chosen their sides. These parties might play some decisive role on some seats and have an impact on overall results.
Here is a look at a few prominent small political parties from Uttar Pradesh.?
One of the most prominent among smaller parties is Rashtriya Lok Dal. Founded by Former Indian Prime Minister Chaudhry Charan Singh¡¯s son Ajit Singh, RLD is influential in the western Uttar Pradesh especially among farmers and Jats.?
Currently, led by Ajit Singh¡¯s son Jayant Singh, the party was the fifth largest party in terms of voter share in 2017 elections but managed to win only one seat. Established in 1996, the party has been part of the government at central and state.?
In 2002, party had two cabinet ministers in chief minister Mayawati's cabinet. From 2003 to 2007, the party had six ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government. Ajit Singh had been a union cabinet minister in the NDA government and later in the second UPA government.?
In the upcoming elections they have allied with SP and will be contesting on about 30 seats.?
Another prominent political party in the state is Apna Dal (Sonelal) which has a footprint among the Kurmi community. They currently have 9 MLAs and 2 MPs and a minister in the union cabinet. They were the sixth largest party in the 2017 UP elections in terms of vote percentage.?
Apna Dal was established by prominent Kurmi Leader Sone Lal Patel who was one of the founding members of BSP In 1996. The party split following a rift between Sone Lal Patel¡¯s daughter and wife in 2016. The prominent faction Apna Dal (Sonelal) is led by Sone Lal¡¯s daughter Anupriya Patel who is also a minister in the central cabinet. They fought the last state and central election in alliance with the BJP.?
The other faction, Apna Dal (Kameravadi), headed by Krishna Patel, mother of Union Minister Anupriya Patel, will contest over a dozen seats as part of an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.
As per spokesperson of the party, the party finalised its candidates for Rohaniya and Pindra in Varanasi, Mariyahu in Jaunpur, Marihan in Mirzapur, Ghorawal in Sonbhadra,Pratapgarh Sadar and Allahabad West seats.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party is led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, former Minister of Backward Classes Welfare, Disabled People development in Uttar Pradesh. Party¡¯s stronghold? is amongst the Rajbhar community in eastern Uttar Pradesh.?
They fought the 2017 UP elections in alliance with the BJP and won 4 seats out of 8 contested. Party leader Prakash Rajbhar was inducted as a minister in Yogi government. The party however walked away from BJP in 2019 and have decided to contest the upcoming elections in alliance with the SP.?
The party has its base in eastern UP districts, holding influence among backward communities.
Nishad Party or "Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal" was formed by Sanjay Nishad, a former member of the Bahujan Samaj Party. The party claims to work for Nishad, Kewats, Bind, Mallah, Kashyap, Manjhi, Gond and other communities whose traditional occupations centred on rivers, such as boatmen or fishermen. They currently have one MLA in the UP assembly. They fought the last state election in alliance with other smaller parties.?
Their alliance with SP in the 2018 by-election ensured BJP¡¯s loss of Gorakhpur seat. For the upcoming elections they have allied with the BJP.?
Other smaller parties include Mahan Dal, Lok Dal, Bahujan Mukti Party, Peace Party of India.
For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.