E-Paper
Khatauli bypoll: Bhim Army chief extends support to SP-RLD alliance
Azad Samaj Party’s president Chandrashekhar met Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary in New Delhi on Tuesday and declared his support to Samajwadi Party-RLD alliance candidate for Khatauli (in Muzaffarnagar district) assembly bypoll Madan Bhaiya—a former RLD MLA
Azad Samaj Party’s president Chandrashekhar met Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary in New Delhi on Tuesday and declared his support to Samajwadi Party-RLD alliance candidate for Khatauli (in Muzaffarnagar district) assembly bypoll Madan Bhaiya—a former RLD MLA. Chaudhary expressed his gratitude to Chandrashekhar for his support.
BJP’s sitting lawmaker from the seat Vikram Saini’s disqualification as MLA following his conviction in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots caused the by-poll. Khatauli constituency has over 3.12 lakh voters, including one lakh Muslims, 25, 000 to 30,000 Gurjar and Jat voters each, around 50,000 Dalit voters and nearly 30,000 Saini voters.
Chandrashekhar’s decision of joining hands with the SP-RLD alliance would be a setback for the BJP as Chandrashekhar’s Bhim Army is popular among Dalit youths and it would help in attracting Dalit votes towards the alliance candidate.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its disqualified MLA Vikram Saini’s wife Rajkumari Saini from Khatauli assembly seat. She is a former pradhan of Kawal village of Muzaffarnagar district.
Her husband Vikram Saini had polled 1,00,651 votes in the U.P. assembly election held earlier this year by defeating his nearest rival Rajpal Singh Saini of the RLD by a margin of 16,345 votes. Vikram Saini had also won the 2017 assembly election by defeating SP candidate Chandan Singh Chauhan by a margin of 31,374 votes.
