After switching to NDA, RLD declares candidates for Lok Sabha, Vidhan Parishad polls

The party’s decision to field candidates from both the Gurjar and Jat communities is being seen as a bid to achieve caste balance in western UP, where these communities hold significant influence

LUCKNOW Two days after he formally announced his party’s decision to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), walking out of the INDIA block, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary on Monday declared candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Parishad elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary meets Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President JP Nadda, in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI Photo)

The RLD asserted claim on two LS seats, naming Chandan Chauhan from Bijnor and Rajkumar Sangwan from Baghpat. Coming from the Gurjar community, Chauhan is currently an MLA from Meerapur constituency in Muzaffarnagar while Sangwan is an old-timer, committed RLD worker and considered an influential leader in the Jat community in the region.

The party’s decision to field candidates from both the Gurjar and Jat communities is being seen as a conscious bid to achieve caste balance in western UP, where these communities hold significant influence.

Jayant also nominated Yogesh Chaudhary as a candidate for the Vidhan Parishad polls. He fought 2017 assembly polls from Mant seat in Mathura as RLD candidate but was defeated by a narrow margin of 386 votes. He also comes from the Jat community.

The term of 13 members of the UP Vidhan Parishad is set to end in May this year and voting to fill the vacancies is scheduled March 21.