LUCKNOW: In wake of the Congress's decimation before the BJP in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh elections, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has decided to go back to the drawing board and reconsider its decision to be part of the opposition bloc INDIA in run up to Lok Sabha elections.
RLD national vice-president Shahid Siddiqui said a high-level meeting of the party is expected to be convened soon to decide the "future course of action" which may discuss whether to stay in the INDIA alliance or chart a different course.
"Congress has grossly failed to show its political muscles in the assembly polls in the three states. The grand old party, in fact, seemed to have impeded the traction the opposition bloc had attained. All these factors need to be taken into account before making the next move," Siddiqui told TOI. Sources said RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, like SP president Akhilesh Yadav, may skip the INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi on Wednesday. RLD, an ally of the Congress, was given just one seat (Bharatpur) in Rajasthan where its candidate and former minister in the Ashok Gehlot government Subhash Garg won.
The party had sought at least six seats in Rajasthan's Jat dominated regions but that was denied by the Congress. A top RLD leader affirmed that the party's alliance with the Samajwadi Party in UP was "very much intact". Sources said RLD feels its bargaining power has improved, especially in west UP where it has been consistently trying to consolidate its position, not just among core Jat vote bank but also the Muslims who have a sizeable presence in the region. RLD sources said the party is trying to win back young Jat voters who drifted towards the BJP amid its galactic rise under PM Narendra Modi.
Political experts said the SP-RLD combine may seek to intensify efforts to arrest division of Muslim vote bank, amid deft political positioning by BSP chief Mayawati who has been flagging the minority card to dent SP's electoral prospects. Experts said Muslim vote bank has traditionally been against BJP. The BJP has been attempting to blunt the Muslim opposition through various outreach campaigns.
RLD national vice-president Shahid Siddiqui said a high-level meeting of the party is expected to be convened soon to decide the "future course of action" which may discuss whether to stay in the INDIA alliance or chart a different course.
"Congress has grossly failed to show its political muscles in the assembly polls in the three states. The grand old party, in fact, seemed to have impeded the traction the opposition bloc had attained. All these factors need to be taken into account before making the next move," Siddiqui told TOI. Sources said RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, like SP president Akhilesh Yadav, may skip the INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi on Wednesday. RLD, an ally of the Congress, was given just one seat (Bharatpur) in Rajasthan where its candidate and former minister in the Ashok Gehlot government Subhash Garg won.
The party had sought at least six seats in Rajasthan's Jat dominated regions but that was denied by the Congress. A top RLD leader affirmed that the party's alliance with the Samajwadi Party in UP was "very much intact". Sources said RLD feels its bargaining power has improved, especially in west UP where it has been consistently trying to consolidate its position, not just among core Jat vote bank but also the Muslims who have a sizeable presence in the region. RLD sources said the party is trying to win back young Jat voters who drifted towards the BJP amid its galactic rise under PM Narendra Modi.
Political experts said the SP-RLD combine may seek to intensify efforts to arrest division of Muslim vote bank, amid deft political positioning by BSP chief Mayawati who has been flagging the minority card to dent SP's electoral prospects. Experts said Muslim vote bank has traditionally been against BJP. The BJP has been attempting to blunt the Muslim opposition through various outreach campaigns.
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