UP polls: SP-RLD alliance battles to get the caste equations right in 'Jatland'

Striving to dislodge the BJP from the 'Jatland' in the western Uttar Pradesh in the forthcoming assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have been experiencing hiccups in the selection of candidates as they battle to get the caste equations right in the region which would go to polls in the first phase of polling on February 10.

On several seats in the region including those of Baghpat, Siwalkhas, Chaprauli, Charthwal, Khatauli and some others, the alliance nominees were facing opposition from the workers of either the SP or the RLD.

According to the reports the RLD leaders were angry with the party leadership for nominating a candidate from the Meerut Cantonment seat who had joined the party barely a few days back. RLD leaders had registered their protest over party nominees from Chaprauli also. Later the party nominee from the seat was changed and the ticket was given to Ajai Kumar.

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The RLD workers were not happy over giving the Siwalkhas seat to the SP. ''Siwalkhas has been an RLD bastion...it has a large Jat population but Sp has fielded a Muslim candidate,'' said a senior RLD leader here while speaking to DH.

SP nominee from Muzaffarnagar Sadar assembly seat Saurabh Swaroop was also facing opposition from the local party workers, who had demanded that a Brahmin be made the party nominee from there.

According to the reports, prominent Muslim leaders were also unhappy with the alliance for not fielding any Muslim candidate from Muzaffarnagar and Kairana districts though both the districts had a sizable presence of voters from the community.

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What may pose problems for the SP-RLD alliance is the candidature of Muslim candidates on the electoral battlefield on BSP tickets. ''BSP has fielded several Muslim candidates in the western region.....the alliance may be impacted if there is a division in the Muslim votes,'' said a senior SP leader here.

The leader said that Mayawati was helping the BJP 'indirectly' by fielding Muslim candidates on the seats where the community had a sizable presence.

SP sources here however said that the BJP would have been successful in polarising the elections along religious lines had they given tickets to the Muslim candidates in the region. ''We have fielded many Muslims on other seats.....we did not want to provide an opportunity to the BJP to polarise the polls,'' said another SP leader in Muzaffarnagar.

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''We have support from every community.....there is always some resentment among the leaders who do not get nominations...we have managed to persuade them to remain united and work for the success of the alliance,'' said SP district president Pramod Tyagi in Muzaffarnagar.

On the BSP fielding of any Muslim candidates in the region, Tyagi said that the Muslims knew that there was no point in voting for the BSP as the latter had formed government in alliance with the BJP in the past.

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