All is not well within the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance claiming to dislodge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party from power in Uttar Pradesh. Trouble is brewing in the RLD over eight SP leaders contesting the assembly elections on the RLD symbol. This is out of the 32 seats given to the RLD by the SP.
According to RLD sources, some seats in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar, considered to be a stronghold of RLD, have gone to the SP. For instance, SP leader and former MLA Ghulam Mohammad has been given the ticket from Siwalkhas constituency of Meerut, while Manisha Ahlawat has got the ticket for Meerut Cantonment. Both are contesting the election on the RLD symbol.
"We are a junior partner in the alliance but are strong in west UP and hold sway in the region. It appears our chief Jayant Chaudhary has succumbed to the SP pressure," said a party leader. Several party workers, led by leaders of Rashtriya Jat Mahasangh, staged a protest at the statue of Chaudhary Charan Singh in Meerut.
"The seat distribution has given a walkover to the BJP. We have nothing to lose. It is Akhilesh Yadav who dreams of becoming the chief minister. If he cannot honour the rules of alliance, we know how to defeat such a mindset,” said a Jat leader.
"Resentment is widespread. The SP has fielded its candidates on the RLD symbol from constituencies where Jats are in majority and are considered safe seats. For instance, Sanjay Latar in Mathura (though Jat but an SP leader on RLD symbol), Rajpal Saini in Khatauli are some such candidates," said an RLD leader.
"Muzaffarnagar has six assembly seats and five have gone to the RLD, but in reality, four out of these five candidates are from SP fighting on RLD symbol. We have been cheated,” said the RLD leader, adding, “Akhilesh Yadav is trying to hijack the benefit of all the hard work done by RLD in creating a strong narrative against the BJP."
RLD sources said besides the RLD tickets to SP leaders, both the parties have taken no measures to ensure the transfer of votes to each other’s party candidates. “The Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party- Rashtriya Lok Dal had entered into alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but it failed to click as there was no transfer of votes to each other and RLD drew a blank,” said an RLD leader. The SP had won five seats while BSP had won 10 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Moreover, the RLD leaders are worried over the counter-polarisation of voters against the SP-RLD alliance. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has repeatedly targeted the SP and RLD for fielding candidates with criminal background and their alleged involvement in communal riots.
“Communal polarisation is a two-way affair. Entire blame cannot be put on the doors of one party. The SP and RLD have proclaimed that their core vote bank are Jats and Muslims, thereby forcing the communities living in hostile relation with the two communities to seek support from other dominant party and this party is BJP,” said Dr AK Verma, a political analyst, adding, “SP and RLD have fielded candidates with tainted past like SP candidate from Kairana, Nahid Hasan.”
Nahid Hasan was allegedly behind the migration of Hindu community from Kairana after the 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar.
