Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on Friday announced an alliance for the upcoming general elections. Per the agreement, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party will leave seven seats in Western Uttar Pradesh for Jayant Chaudhary’s party.
“Congratulations to everyone on the alliance of RLD and SP. Let us all unite for victory,” Yadav said in a post on X.
Chaudhary said he os always ready to protect national and constitutional values.
“We expect all workers of our alliance to move forward together for the development and prosperity of our region,” he wrote on X.
An RLD leader told PTI that his party will contest seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party has been scoring landslide victories in the state since 2014.
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RLD and SP contested the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The alliance proved to be beneficial for both the parties — the SP 111 seats while the RLD bagged 8 seats.
In the 2019 general elections, RLD was part of the SP-BSP alliance. It contested from Mathura, Baghpat and Muzaffar Nagar seats but lost all three seats. The SP and the BSP won 5 and 10 seats respectively.
The announcement of the alliance comes amid efforts by the Opposition’s INDIA bloc to stitch alliances in several states, including UP, Delhi and Punjab.
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Several Opposition leaders, including TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, had skipped the bloc’s meeting this month.
RLD is very popular among the Jat community and has influence in Jat-dominated constituencies like Muzaffarnagar, Kiarana, Bijnor, Mathura, Baghpat, Amroha and Meerut.
During the Madhya Pradesh assembly election, Akhilesh Yadav had a public spat with the Congress after the latter denied the SP seats saying the INDIA bloc was meant for national politics. Yadav had called the move “betrayal”.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
