SP-RLD alliance triggers unease in BJP as Akhilesh-Jayant plan more joint rallies in 'Jatland'

Apparently buoyed by the 'success' of their first joint public meeting on Tuesday at Meerut in the 'Jat' dominated western Uttar Pradesh region, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary have decided to hold more joint rallies in the region to take on the BJP, which has been forced to 'revisit' its electoral strategy to counter what appears to be a formidable SP-RLD alliance.

Leaders of both SP and RLD here said that they had not expected such a large turnout in the Meerut rally. What came as a pleasant surprise for the two parties was the participation of a sizable number of women and elders in the meeting.

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''If this crowd turns into votes, then the electoral scene of the state will change completely,'' a visibly happy Akhilesh said at the rally.

That the issues concerning the farmers and price rise would remain on top of the agenda of the two parties was clear as bundles of sugarcane along with empty gas cylinders were kept on the stage for the people to see. "The farmers of the region are yet to get their cane dues...the price of the domestic gas cylinders has skyrocketed in the past few months,'' SP leader Atul Pradah said.

He also made it clear that there would be no problem in seat-sharing between the two parties. ''The two leaders will sit and discuss the issue at the appropriate time,'' Pradhan added.

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Although the RLD had fared miserably in the 2017 Assembly polls and had managed to win only one seat, the farmer's agitation appeared to give a fresh lease of life to the party with the 'Jat' leaders expressing open support for Jayant Chaudhary. Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait had recently said that the 'Jats' had committed a blunder by shifting their allegiance from the RLD.

A local scribe in the Baghpat district said that the electorally influential community could support the RLD in the Assembly polls. ''Though it is still some months to go for the polls, for the BJP will not be easy this time,'' he said.

The alliance has triggered some unease in the BJP and the saffron party has been forced to redraw its electoral strategy for the western UP region, sources in the BJP said. ''SP-RLD alliance may pose some problems for us but we are confident that we will be able to repeat our performance,'' said a senior UP BJP leader here.

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