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UP polls: SP, RLD strike pact, discuss seat-sharing formula
An RLD leader said the alliance was finalised after RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary met SP chief Akhilesh Yadav at the latter’s residence.
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The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on Tuesday sealed an alliance for the 2022 UP Assembly polls and also discussed a seat-sharing formula, according to people aware of the development in both parties.
An RLD leader who asked not to be named said the alliance was finalised after RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary met SP chief Akhilesh Yadav at the latter’s residence. Soon after, both tweeted photographs of the two of them together, with comments that indicated that a an alliance was on.
In a tweet in Hindi, Akhilesh said: “Towards the change with Shri Jayant Chaudhary.” Jayant tweeted: “Badhtey kadam (taking steps forward).”
“The alliance is likely to be declared formally within a day or two,” said Anil Dubey, RLD national secretary and spokesperson.
The alliance between the two long-standing partners in UP has been on the cards for some time. Yadav and Chaudhary have both said several times that an alliance has almost been finalised and would be announced formally before the end of November.
The RLD is likely to contest 30-40 seats (mostly in western UP, its stronghold) . Chaudhary is the grandson of former Prime Minister Charan Singh and the son of former union minister Ajit Singh.
The SP has already announced an alliance with Om Prakash Rajbhar’s eastern UP based Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SPSP) and a few smaller parties, including the Mahan Dal. Alliances with more small parties are in the offing including one with Shivpal Yadav’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L).
Since the loss in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party had been reiterating that it will not ally with any big party because of its experiences with such partnerships(with Congress in 2017 UP Assembly polls and with Bahujan Samaj Party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls).
The RLD enjoys support among farmers of western UP and is on the same page with the SP on the issue of opposing the Centre’s three farm laws, which the government said last week that it would repeal.
The RLD and the SP have been constant companions since the 2017 UP assembly elections and contested all the assembly and Lok Sabha bypolls together since then.
“This alliance seems mature with their long-standing partnership and no discord ever surfacing between the two. Both the leaders also exude the same wavelength and both parties are likely to gain in 2022 polls,” said professor SK Dwivedi, political analyst and former HoD, political science, Lucknow University.
