BJP not giving respect to allies, SP-BSP alliance a challenge: Apna Dal

Apna Dal, an ally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance government on Tuesday said that UP BJP leadership has not given them the due respect and the possible alliance between SP and BSP in UP might prove to be a setback to NDA.

Ashish Patel, national president of Apna Dal said that BJP should learn from the recent losses in the state Assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Speculating on the outcomes of a possible alliance between regional parties in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "State BJP leadership is not giving us the respect we deserve, they should learn from recent losses. The SP-BSP alliance is a challenge for us, allies in UP are upset, leadership at Centre must do something, else NDA would suffer in UP."

Citing that the party leader and Lok Sabha MP Anupriya Patel had not been invited for the inauguration of a medical college in the state, he further blamed the BJP leadership for showing disrespect to his party workers and ignoring them.