LUCKNOW: Even after Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhury’s reiteration that his party’s alliance with Akhilesh Yadav-led SP was intact, there have been several indicators of all is not well between the two allies, who had come together against the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017.
Even RLD state chief Ramashish Rai had accepted it while talking to the media that at times SP used to send not-so-positive signals, especially, during ticket distribution, be it 2022 Assembly polls or the recently concluded urban local body elections.
Hence, amid the buzz that Jayant is on the look-out for new friends ahead of the 2024 polls, UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhury sent a strong feeler to the Jat leader who has considerable clout among Jat voters in western UP, on Monday, saying that if Jayant wanted to get ideologically associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and work with him, he (Jayant) was most welcome in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Significantly, speculations of political realignment in UP with Jayant joining NDA have been rife for quite some time now. As per sources, even the seats for RLD in western UP have been decided by the BJP.
However, the Jat leader has kept all its options open and is believed to be in talks with Congress as well. As per the RLD insiders, the party leadership is of the opinion that if it has to remain in the opposition camp, any anti-BJP alliance is not possible without Congress.
“We will try to take Congress on board in any alliance against the BJP in UP. The SP-RLD alliance alone will not be so impactful in 2024,” said a senior RLD leader.
On the contrary, neither the SP nor the Congress seems to be eager to come together again after the bitter experience in the 2017 Assembly polls.