Amid talks of an alliance ahead of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Singh Chaudhary on Tuesday, 23 November, tweeted a photograph with Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Further, Chaudhary wrote in Hindi:
“Badhte Kadam (Onward March)”
Earlier on 19 November, Chaudhary was quoted by ANI as saying:
“By this month-end, we (RLD and Samajwadi Party) will take the decision and will come together.”
Chaudhary also met Yadav in Lucknow on Monday. Speculations are afoot that after alliance confirmation between the two parties, a consensus has now been reached on seat sharing.
Sources in RLD claim their party has bagged around 35 to 40 seats in the alliance.
BACKGROUND
On 25 May, weeks after the demise of his father Chaudhary Ajit Singh, Jayant Chaudhary took over as the President of the Rashtriya Lok Dal. This decision was taken at the national executive meeting of the party held online on the same day.
Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav, who had earlier stated that he would not be contesting in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly elections, on Thursday, 18 November, said that he will compete in the polls if the party asks him to.
"That statement was twisted. If the Samajwadi Party decides, then I will contest," Yadav told NDTV in an interview, at a rally in UP's Ghazipur district.
"I want to see the BJP wiped out," the SP chief further said.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)