A day after formalising its entry into the National Democratic Alliance, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on Monday announced its candidates from Baghpat and Bijnor Lok Sabha seats and a Legislative Council slot. Party sources said it had been done after consultation with the BJP. National spokesperson Mohd Islam said loyalty had been rewarded and no outsider was thrust on the worker. “The party is also expected to get one or two members in the next expansion of the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet,” he said. The nine MLAs of the party had voted for the BJP candidate in the fiercely-contested Rajya Sabha poll recently.
Striking a balance between its Jat and Gurjar vote base and giving a firm answer to erstwhile partner Samajwadi Party, the RLD announced its trusted veteran and national secretary Rajkumar Sangwan, an acolyte of Chaudhary Charan Singh, from its traditional Baghpat seat while Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar) MLA Chandan Chauhan will contest from the Bijnor seat which is currently held by Bahujan Samaj Party’s Malook Nagar.
Speculation was rife that Mr. Nagar, a prominent Gurjar leader in the region, would join the RLD but the party chose Mr. Chauhan, the grandson of former Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Chaudhary Narayan Singh, who also hails from the Gurjar community.
