LUCKNOW: BJP finally sealed its alliance with Apna Dal (Sonelal), the Kurmi-dominated political outfit, giving it two seats on Friday after handing out nine MoS ranks to the alliance partner in the state, hours before the model code came into force.Apna Dal (Sonelal) convener and Union minister Anupriya Patel met BJP chief Amit Shah in Delhi on Friday to discuss seat sharing after which Shah tweeted that Anupriya will contest from Mirzapur , while the two parties will finalize the candidate for the other seat after due consultation.In 2014 general elections, BJP had a pre-poll alliance with Krishna Patel-led Apna Dal, which won two Lok Sabha seats from UP, even as the saffron party swept the state, winning 71 seats. Krishna'a daughter Anupriya won from Mirzapur, while the Pratapgarh seat was bagged by Kunwar Haribansh Singh. In 2016, Anupriya split with her mother Krishna Patel, formed Apna Dal (Sonelal) and struck a pre-poll alliance with BJP in 2017 UP assembly elections, winning nine seats. Anupriya's husband Ashish Singh Patel later got elected as MLC.Last month, even Kunwar Haribansh Singh broke away from Apna Dal and formed Akhil Bharatiya Apna Dal, accusing party leadership of nepotism. While Haribansh has been aligning with BJP, Krishna has been keeping her options open while sending feelers to Opposition parties, including Congress.Anupriya too accused BJP of not giving due respect to allies and was skipping government events. Sources said, she was demanding five seats in UP. Sources in BJP said the saffron party wanted to keep an elbow room to adjust other Apna Dal factions too. When contacted, Krishna Patel refused to comment and said she would take decision after consulting party colleagues. Haribansh told TOI, he was ready for talks and his party was willing to accept BJP as senior alliance partner.

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