Union Minister Athawale jumps into UP polls fray; seeks 8-10 seats for RPI from NDA quota

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday urged BJP to allocate seats to RPI(A) in the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. In a letter addressed to BJP president JP Nadda, Athawale opined that the saffron party should expand NDA to keep smaller parties together. Maintaining that his party is an integral part of NDA, he contended that RPI(A) can help cut the votes of BSP as both parties share a common Dalit support base. In view of this, he demanded 8-10 seats for his party.

The letter stated, "Therefore, I request you to give some seats to RPI (Athawale) by providing an opportunity to work as an ally in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand".  Athawale added, "My personal request to you is that if RPI (Athawale) is made an ally of Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh, then it will help in cutting the votes of BSP...If 8-10 seats are given to RPI by BJP, then BJP will get indirect benefit too". 

Assembly polls in UP

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Though Adityanath's stature within the saffron party skyrocketed over the years becoming a star campaigner in all elections, he purportedly attracted ire for the handling of the COVID-19 situation during the second wave.

BJP leaders have made conflicting statements over Adityanath's future as the Chief Minister in the last few weeks. For instance, UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh asserted that the polls will be contested under the CM’s leadership citing the end of corruption and hooliganism in the state. However, UP Minister Swami Prasad Maurya stressed that the state’s next CM will be decided by the BJP’s central leadership after the assembly polls. Similarly, newly appointed UP vice president AK Sharma sparked a buzz by asserting that PM Modi's name was enough to win the election.