Lucknow: BJP's alliance partners in Uttar Pradesh appeared to be 'unhappy' over a reported offer of six seats to them by the saffron party in the state in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
According to the reports, BJP has decided to leave six Lok Sabha seats in UP for its alliance partners. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) could get two seats- Baghpat and Bijnore, while the Apna Dal (AD) could also get two seats. The Nishad Party and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) were likely to be offered one seat each.
Reacting to the reported offer of one seat, Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad said that his party deserved at least two seats. ''We have five MLAs in the state assembly at present...six others are from our party but had won on the BJP symbol...we must get at least two Lok Sabha seats,'' Sanjay Nishad said on Saturday.
He said that the 'Nishad' (boatmen) community formed around 18 per cent of the total electorate in the state and they should get adequate representation in the Parliament.
The SBSP, a predominantly caste outfit, wielded influence on the electorally influential 'Rajbhar' community voters, who were in sizable strength in around a dozen districts in the eastern region of the state, also demanded two to three seats. ''We have six MLAs in the state assembly currently...the Rajbhar voters can influence the outcome of the polls on around a dozen seats,'' said an SBSP leader here.
The leader said that his party should get two to three seats. According to the sources in the BJP, the SBSP could be offered Ghazipur or Ghosi Lok Sabha seat.
The biggest dilemma was being faced by the RLD, which had been offered seven LS seats by the Samajwadi Party (SP) before its president Jayant Choudhary decided to ditch the opposition alliance and join the NDA. Sources in the BJP said that the RLD, a predominantly 'Jat' outfit, had been offered only two seats.
RLD leaders were said to be 'unhappy' over the reported offer as they felt that their party should be given at least four seats.
The state BJP leaders here said that no final decision had yet been taken on seat sharing with the allies in UP.