RLD stares at political extinction in UP

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which not long ago used to rule the Jat land in western Uttar Pradesh, stares at political extinction after severe drubbing in the state Assembly polls.

The RLD, whose candidates contested in 357 of the 403 seats in the state, could win only one seat — Chaprauli in Baghpat district where its candidate Sahendra Ramala defeated his nearest BJP rival by a little over three thousand votes.

What added insult to injury was the fact that of the 357 RLD nominees, barring Chaprauli, Mant and Siwalkhas, its candidates in all other seats lost security deposits.

The party’s vote share also declined sharply to a meagre 1.80% in the polls. In the previous Assembly elections in 2012, its vote share was 2.33 and the party had won 12 seats, mainly in the western belt.

On the brink of political extinction after having failed to win even a single seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the RLD had hoped to revive itself through its traditional Jat vote bank in 2017 Assembly elections.