RLD, SP alliance to kick out politics of hatred in UP, says Jayant Chaudhary

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary on Tuesday announced that he will be aligning with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Hinting earlier on several occasions that his outfit would ally with the SP, Chaudhary said if the coalition is elected to power it would construct a memorial for the farmers who died during protests against the contentious agricultural laws.

The RLD leader criticised the Uttar Pradesh government over the deaths of farmers and also highlighted the recent case of paper leak and exams being cancelled owing to that. He accused the Yogi Adityanath-led government of forcing young people to migrate to other states for better jobs. “The first work our double-engine government will do is to construct a memorial for martyr farmers, who died during farmers' protest here in the land of Chowdhury Charan Singh,” Chaudhary was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Chaudhary also accused the BJP of spreading hate. “The BJP talks of ‘hatred’ and ‘our Babaji’ starts with Aurangzeb and ends with the Kairana exodus,” Chaudhary said in an apparent reference to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

He also urged the people of the state to relieve the Uttar Pradesh chief minister of his responsibilities. “Babaji becomes angry very fast. You have never seen him smiling. He smiles only when he is with calves. I ask you to relieve him so that he can play with his calves 24 hours. He cannot handle government files,” Chaudhary remarked. He also lauded the farmers for their fight that led to the repeal of the three controversial laws.

The SP is working towards presenting itself as a strong alternative to the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. While the Congress and the BSP continue to form alliances with smaller partners, the SP is working with the RLD and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party in a bid to hurt BJP’s electoral chances in Uttar Pradesh.