Ties strained, RLD sends SP a signal: Wants 12 seats in LS polls

The message clearly was directed at the SP, with RLD state unit chief Ramashish Rai telling The Indian Express that the party had not gained much by giving up seats for the sake of its alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.

Western UP is the RLD’s stronghold and the 12 seats it wants to contest are Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Amroha, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Fatehpur Sikri, Mathura and Baghpat.

The ties between the SP and RLD have been strained recently, particularly since disagreements over the urban local body polls. RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary missed the June 23 Opposition unity meeting held in Patna, making an announcement at the last minute.

After reports emerged of his “meeting” with a Union minister as a prelude to a possible move to the NDA, Chaudhary declared that he would be present at the next meeting for Opposition unity, to be held on July 17-18 in Bengaluru.

The RLD lost its status as a state-level party in April this year as it failed to get at least 6% of the votes in the 2022 Assembly polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, both fought in alliance with the SP.

The RLD had contested 33 of the total 403 seats in last year’s Assembly polls, and managed to win 8, with 2.85% vote share. Its tally stands currently at 9, after winning the bypoll to Khatauli Assembly seat in December last year.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the RLD had contested 3 seats, and couldn’t win any, managing a vote share of 1.69%.

In the 2019 polls, when the SP, RLD and BSP had fought together, the SP had contested 37 seats and won 5. In the 2022 Assembly polls, the SP had contested 347 seats – with some seats shared with smaller parties – and won 111.

The RLD currently has the status of an “unrecognised party” which means that it is registered with the Election Commission, but not recognised.

Rai told The Indian Express: “Our national president has also said that we are preparing to contest 12 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. We will discuss this with the senior leadership of the SP… This is our target so that we can get the status of a state-level party back.”

Adding that this was “very important” for the party, Rai said the RLD had given up seats it was sure to win in the 2022 polls, so as to “bring change in UP” and keep the alliance going.

“But in the last elections, we didn’t benefit so much (from the alliance). Akhileshji benefited by reaching 111 seats. We also benefited, but lost our state-level status. If our candidates had contested more seats, we wouldn’t have lost the status,” said Rai.

RLD insiders said the signal to the SP was that it could not be taken for granted. In the urban civic polls, the RLD’s chief grouse was that the SP didn’t set aside any mayoral seats for it, including in Meerut. The SP ended up losing the seat.

A senior RLD leader said: “This is how negotiations happen. We want 12 seats. We will see how the talks proceed, but the RLD will not buckle down like it did in the urban local body polls.”

About the RLD’s larger plans, a senior leader repeated that Chaudhary will attend the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru, where Akhilesh is also likely to be present.

Though the two young leaders were a picture of bonhomie till the 2022 polls, they have not been spotted together or shared a stage recently. Chaudhary was absent when Akhilesh campaigned in western UP for the civic polls. There was furious talk in the RLD of the SP “bullying” the smaller party, with hints that Chaudhary was considering the Congress as an option.

Senior SP leaders say the RLD might have its grievances but is still to prove its worth. “The RLD contested 33 seats and won 8 in 2022. Their only support base are the Jats. It is they who benefited from allying with us because the Muslims then supported the party. They should also see that the SP has given them their due,” an SP leader said, adding that 12 seats was a steep demand, though it could just be a bargaining position.

“One starts somewhere, then there are talks. We will hold talks with the RLD leadership and I am sure a middle ground can be reached,” said the leader.

SP national spokesperson Nidhi Yadav said a decision regarding seat-sharing will be taken at the right time by the party’s national leadership.