RLD MLAs’ meet with Yogi sparks buzz, party refutes political motive
Perhaps that is why, after denials by party leaders, the RLD chief, apparently to quell the speculations of him joining NDA, himself put up a post on social media that was critical of the BJP government.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath meeting with Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) lawmakers on Wednesday, became a subject of intense scrutiny throughout Thursday.
Perhaps that is why, after denials by party leaders, the RLD chief, apparently to quell the speculations of him joining NDA, himself put up a post on social media that was critical of the BJP government.
On Wednesday, eight of the nine RLD lawmakers had met Adityanath, a meeting that led to the buzz of RLD joining NDA gaining ground. That was also because the development came days after Jayant was absent during the ‘Delhi Service Bill’ in the Parliament, an issue on which the opposition alliance had tried to put up a unity show.
On Thursday night, Jayant posted a photo of him attending a meeting convened by the Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to resolve the impasse in the Upper House of the Parliament over the Manipur issue. The photo posted on social media site X, was accompanied by a message critical of the BJP government.
“The Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke in Parliament for hours but spared just one minute on Manipur. I don’t think the PM wants to be part of the debate on Manipur in Rajya Sabha,” he said in his social media post.
Jayant’s reaction came after party lawmakers and leaders tried hard all day to play down the buzz about Jayant succumbing to BJP’s overtures.
“Jayant ji didn’t attend the voting in the Parliament on Delhi Service Bill due to a medical emergency. Our meeting with the CM was to remind him of his promises made on the floor of the house regarding farmers, sugar mills and the like. There is nothing more to it,” said Chandan Chauhan, an RLD-lawmaker who was part of the delegation that met the chief minister.
RLD spokesman Anil Dubey also said the party chief Jayant Chaudhary would be part of the opposition alliance meeting in Mumbai. “RLD is part of the opposition alliance. Our party MLAs had met the CM over problems of drought and farmers. The projection that the meeting had political overtones is false and Jayantji would be part of the opposition alliance meeting in Mumbai,” Dubey said.
However, BJP leaders kept their focus on the meeting.
“I don’t have details but there is no smoke without fire. The BJP’s appeal is expanding. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma is attracting newer allies and so it won’t be any surprise if more allies come on board,” BJP lawmaker and vice president Vijay Pathak said.
“Since RLD has denied joining NDA, let us believe that there is not much truth in the buzz now. But such focus on RLD means it will have more negotiation power during seat sharing talks with the Samajwadi Party,” said Irshad Ilmi, a political expert.
BJP’s allies Nishad Party as well as the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party said they were hopeful that RLD would be on board.
