Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the newly formed INDIA bloc is finding itself in troubled waters with each passing day. From West Bengal to Bihar to now Uttar Pradesh, the Congress-led alliance is facing disintegration every other day. As Congress leader Acharya Pramod said, there is nothing like the INDIA bloc as Nitish Kumar already performed its last rights. The new headache for the anti-BJP bloc is the Rashtriya Lok Dal led by Jayant Chaudhary who on January 19 sealed a deal with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party to contest 7 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. But within 19 days, he is all set to join hands with the NDA and that too with a lesser number of seats.
Ahead of the polls, a fierce game is underway between the BJP and Congress. While Congress was strategizing to secure victory in 2024 based on the strength of major regional parties nationwide, the BJP has been employing a unique strategy to pull Congress’s ally parties into its fold and weaken it. According to reports, the BJP is now planning to deal a blow to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) in Uttar Pradesh as well. The RLD is likely to accept the four-seat proposal of the NDA. High-ranking leaders of BJP and RLD have reportedly reached a nearly final deal, with Jayant Chaudhary expected to reach Delhi to seal the deal. Following this, the announcement of the coalition is expected in Delhi.
According to sources, Jayant Chaudhary is demanding four seats in Western Uttar Pradesh from BJP. These seats include Kairana, Baghpat, Mathura, and Amroha. It is reported that the BJP is also inclined to agree to this demand. If this coalition indeed materializes, it is considered a significant setback for Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, which had planned to win Western Uttar Pradesh with the alliance of R.L.D. and Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party.
According to reports, Akhilesh Yadav has offered Jayant Chaudhary seven seats for the Lok Sabha elections, including Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Mathura, and Hathras, among others. However, two seats are yet to be finalized.
The question is being asked why Jayant Chaudhary is considering BJP’s offer of four seats instead of Akhilesh’s seven seats. Political experts attribute this to the uncertainty of winning elections by aligning with Akhilesh Yadav. They believe that stopping the BJP which is riding on Ram temple wave might be challenging this time for the opposition, especially in the Hindi belt. Instead of taking the risk, Jayant Chaudhary seems inclined to ride the Modi wave and increase the number of his party’s MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Bureau Report
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