INDIA or NDA? RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary keeps his options open

Lucknow, Aug 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition's INDIA alliance are busy reaching out to several political parties to secure victory for their respective coalitions.

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Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) Chief Jayant Chaudhary, who is making a fresh political stint in western Uttar Pradesh, is eyeing a tough political challenge. He has opened his political doors for both the opposition INDIA alliance and the NDA by not being present in the Rajya Sabha during the voting on the contentious Delhi Services Bill yet sending out a subtle message of siding with the opposition INDIA alliance.

During the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly session, RLD MLAs met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his residence for the first time.

The speculation is rife among the political circles that firstly the RLD Chief remained absent in the Rajya Sabha during the voting on the Delhi Services Bill on August 7. Now, RLD MLAs collectively met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

There is already speculation in a section of the media that Jayant Chaudhary might stitch an alliance with the BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Chaudhary skipped the first meeting of the opposition parties held in Patna in June. However, he was present at the second meeting organised under the leadership of Congress in Bengaluru on July 17. 

RLD spokesperson Anil Dubey rubbished the speculation of RLD joining the NDA, adding that the recent meeting of RLD MLAs with Yogi Adityanath was regarding the problems faced by the farmers who are suffering from drought and floods in western Uttar Pradesh. He added that RLD is firmly standing with the opposition INDIA alliance.

A few days ago, Jayant Chaudhary had tweeted, "If you eat rice, then eat kheer" added fuel to the speculation about the RLD joining hands with the ruling NDA. 

He tweeted that "it doesn't really matter if you cook a biryani (meat and rice) or a khichdi (lentils and rice). If the desire is to eat rice why not go for the 'sweet kheer' (rice pudding) instead?"

It is still not clear if the 'biryani' and 'khichdi' comment implies efforts being made by the opposition parties to unitedly contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? Is the kheer a comment for the ruling party? Is Jayant hinting that he sees the ruling party as a sweeter ally than the other political parties?

Another senior RLD leader, on the condition of anonymity, said: "Jayant Chaudhary wants to strengthen his own party. That's why he is cautiously watching both the political alliances. He wants to be an alternative to the next government in western Uttar Pradesh. That is why he is keeping all possible political options open."

RLD had performed exceptionally well in the 2022 Assembly elections. 

Jayant Chaudhary has a strong voter base among the Jat community. He has carved an identity of his own through struggles. Therefore, concrete steps will be taken to strengthen the RLD at the Central level.

Political analyst Prasun Pandey said that Jat votes will have a significant role in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "If we look at the poll statistics, then Jats comprise nearly 1.5 to 2 per cent of the total population of the whole of Uttar Pradesh. In some districts of western Uttar Pradesh, their population is up to 18 per cent."

Pandey says that BJP is trying to woo the Jat voters of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan along with Uttar Pradesh by trying to forge an alliance with Jayant Chaudhary, who is taking forward the political legacy of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

At present, the BJP does not have any Jat leader who is widely acceptable across the country. This is why the BJP is focused on wooing the RLD Chief towards the NDA. Therefore, a large section of the saffron party is in favour of merging him into the NDA fold, Pandey added.

In the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections held in 2022, RLD had won eight seats. At the same time, the BJP suffered losses in the Jat-dominated seats of western Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, the BJP suffered a massive defeat in the subsequent Uttar Pradesh civic body elections in the Jat-dominated areas.

Prasoon says that if Jayant Chaudhary does not get the desired number of seats in the opposition INDIA alliance, then he might join the NDA and become a Union Minister with one or two of his party MLAs could also get ministerial berths in Uttar Pradesh. This way, the RLD Chief might play an active political role in the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments. This is the reason he is keeping his doors open for both the NDA and INDIA alliance.

Senior political analyst Virendra Singh Rawat said that RLD was yet to reveal its political alliance with the NDA or with the INDIA alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The recent political developments were an attempt to convey the message as part of the RLD's political strategy before the upcoming general elections. Because along with registering his presence in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Jayant is trying to emerge as a major Jat leader.

Source: IANS