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A party with primarily a base in western Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has its sights on expanding to Haryana and Punjab, hoping to leverage the respect that Chaudhary’s grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh commands among farmers in the two states.
The RLD on Sunday appointed former MLA Jagjeet Singh Sangwan as its Haryana president and announced that its Punjab president would be announced after a meeting in Ludhiana on May 4. On Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Anil Kumar and RLD general secretary (organisation) Trilok Tyagi arrived in Chandigarh as the party got ready to announce the appointment of Sangwan, popularly known as Jaggi, the former MLA from Charkhi Dadri. He won that seat in 2000 on a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket and until recently was with the Congress.
“We will contest the Punjab Assembly polls in 2027. Whether we will contest the election alone or in alliance with any party will be declared later. We will contest the next Assembly elections in Haryana too. But the issue of an alliance would be decided ahead of the polls only,” said Tyagi.
“Under the leadership of Jayant Chaudhary, the RLD’s state units are being formed across the country. So far, state units have been established in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, and Telangana. A meeting of the party will be held on May 4 in Ludhiana, Punjab, where many leaders from the state will join the RLD, and the Punjab state executive will be formed shortly thereafter,” he added.
The RLD will mainly bank on Jat and Jat Sikh votes to expand in these two states as these communities form a significant chunk of the electorate there, like in West UP and Rajasthan.
More than Punjab, the RLD has deep historical roots in Haryana, where an alliance between Chaudhary Charan Singh and Chaudhary Devi Lal during the Janata Party’s rise to power in 1977 significantly resonated with voters in the state. Charan Singh became PM while Devi Lal became Haryana CM at the time. They also contested the 1982 Assembly elections together under the Lok Dal banner. However, by 1987, they parted ways, and Devi Lal, leading the Lok Dal (Bahuguna), achieved a landslide victory in Haryana.
In Haryana, the party will look to establish its presence in the constituencies of Jind, Charkhi Dadri, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Hisar, Sirsa, Sonipat, Jhajjar, and Panipat that have a sizable chunk of Jat voters. Sangwan said the party’s state executive would be formed within a month, and within three months, appointments would be made at the district level and of other office-bearers.
With Punjab and Haryana also being the epicentre of farmers’ agitation against the three central farm laws in 2020-21, the RLD hopes to reach out to aggrieved farmers on the plank of Charan Singh’s legacy. Recalling the past, Tyagi said, “We see a bright future for the party in Haryana because of our historical presence in the state. People of the Lok Dal mindset can join hands again, too.”
Congress leader and six-time former MLA from Haryana, Sampat Singh, said he was sceptical about the RLD’s prospects in Haryana and Punjab. A close associate of Devi Lal, Sampat Singh has been part of the Janata Party, the Lok Dal, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), serving as a minister in Devi Lal and Om Prakash Chautala-led governments from 1987 to 1991 and 1999 to 2005.
Reflecting on the past, he said, “The INLD made a similar mistake by attempting to expand its base in Uttar Pradesh in early 2000. Despite significant investments, the party failed to make any impact there. Jayant should focus on western Uttar Pradesh to remain relevant in politics.”
Some are seeing the BJP’s hand behind the RLD’s expansion plans. Aam Aadmi Party national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda said, “Today, some political parties are dancing to the tunes of the BJP. The BJP is using those parties as their proxy, they don’t have any recognition in Punjab and Haryana. Punjab too has no space for either the BJP or for its pawns.”
