SP, RLD stitch electoral alliance in Uttar Pradesh ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Lucknow: In a significant political development ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which was a major electoral force in the 'Jat' dominated western Uttar Pradesh, stitched an electoral alliance in the state.

SP President Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary informed the same through posts on X on Friday.

''Congratulations to all over SP-RLD alliance....all should join hands now,'' Akhilesh said in his post.

''The alliance is always ready to safeguard national and constitutional values....appeal to the workers of the alliance to work unitedly for the betterment of their areas,'' Jayant said in his post.

Although the two leaders did not reveal the number of seats to be contested by the RLD and also the details of the seats, according to the sources in the SP, the RLD has been given seven seats.

Sources said that the RLD is likely to contest from Baghpat, Mathura, Amroha, Bijnore, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Kairana seats in the state in the forthcoming LS polls. Almost all the seats given to the RLD have a sizable presence of Muslim and Jat voters.

Sources said that the SP-RLD alliance could also accommodate firebrand Dalit leader Chandrashekhar alias Ravan and leave a seat or two to him and his outfit, which commands considerable influence over the Dalit community in the western districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Baghpat and some others.

Jayant had earlier hinted that Chandrashekhar would also be a part of the alliance in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. According to the political analysts here, Chandrashekhar's entry into the SP-RLD alliance could pose problems for BSP supremo Mayawati.

The SP-RLD alliance could further queer the pitch for Congress, which was desperately trying to strike a deal with Akhilesh. Akhilesh is believed to have offered around half a dozen seats to the Congress but the latter insists on around two dozen seats.

Besides, leaving the Amroha LS seat for RLD could also irk the Congress as it plans on fielding Danish Ali, who was recently suspended by the BSP and had won from Amroha in 2019 LS polls on the BSP ticket.