Union Minister Anupriya Patel, whose party Apna Dal is a BJP ally in UP, has distanced herself from the BJP's Hindutva pitch. Just days before the first phase of polling in UP, Patel on on Monday said that her party is ideologically different from the BJP and they had no association with “Hindutva and all those issues”.
Patel also stressed that Muslims candidates are not untouchables for the Apna Dal. The Apna Dal, which has been BJP's ally in the last three elections in Uttar Pradesh – the 2014 and 2019 general elections and the 2017 assembly polls -- has announced its first Muslim candidate this time.
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Haider Ali, the grandson of Congress veteran Begum Noor Bano, was the first candidate announced by the Apna Dal. He is contesting against senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam Khan from Suar.
Like the previous polls, BJP has not fielded any Muslim candidate in this election too. The party has been attacking Samajwadi Party for being pro-Muslim. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has repeatedly made comments such as Abba Jaan, Qabristan and 80 Vs 20 seen as targeted at Muslims.
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Anupriya Patel told PTI that she doesn't identify with the communal language and issues. Insisting that Apna Dal doesn't indulge in religious politics, she said that her party stands for social justice for the marginalised sections of society
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