Ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Apna Dal has announced names of two more candidates for the polls. The candidates are Sunil Patel and R K Patel from Rohnia (Varanasi) and Madiyaon (jaunpur) respectively.
Earlier, Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel that her party is dissociated from 'Hindutva and all those issues' and also said that it is ideologically different from the BJP. She also ensured that the Muslims are not untouchable for her party, "Yes we are ideologically different from the BJP. People are trying to ask me questions on Hindutva and all those issues, I dissociate myself from all those issues and my party doesn't do religious politics. We stand for social justice. That's our ideology," she said.
"We have always worked for the marginalized sections of society, whether on the streets or in parliament. And this is our philosophy and our founding principles and we only stick to it," she added.
The BJP alliance Apna Dal has announced its first Muslim candidate this time. The grandson of Congress veteran Begum Noor Bano, Haider Ali was the candidate announced by the Apna Dal (S). He will be contesting against senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam Khan from Suar. Talking on the same Patel said "I don't know why everybody is looking at a candidate from the perspective of religion. He is a promising youth who is well educated."
Meanwhile, the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections has been done successfully the district recorded a 59.87% turnout in votes. The first phase of polls covered 58 assembly constituencies across 11 districts of the state. These districts include Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Mathura.
Also, the state held its second phase of polling on 14th Feb. The second phase covered nine districts which are Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Badaun, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha, Sambhal, and Shahjahanpur. BJP and SP are the main competitors in the polls.