'Jayant Chaudhary An Educated Person, Hopeful That He...': Akhilesh Amid Rumours Of RLD Merging With NDA

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday responded to the speculations that Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) might join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He said, Jayant Chaudhary, being an educated and politically astute individual, would prioritise the welfare of farmers and refrain from actions detrimental to their cause.

"Jayant Chaudhary is an educated person and he understands politics really well. I am hopeful that he will not let the fight for farmers weaken," ANI quoted Akhilesh Yadav as saying. Meanwhile, Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's wife, also expressed confidence in Chaudhary's integrity. "The way Bharatiya Janata Party has been working against the farmers and the way our wrestlers have been insulted by BJP, I don't think RLD national president Jayant Chaudhary will take any step that will damage our farmers directly," Dimple remarked as per ANI. 

Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav also asserted that RLD will remain in the I.N.D.I.A bloc, criticising the BJP's alleged attempts to mislead through media reports, reported ANI.

Earlier, there were reports that Jayant Chaudhary in in advanced talks with the BJP for a seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The reports came nearly three weeks after Yadav announced the Samajwadi Party's alliance with the RLD for the April-May polls, reported ANI.

As per PTI, the alliance was announced by the RLD and the SP for the Lok Sabha polls on January 19 with the former stating that the latter will leave seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh for its nominees. 

The RLD's core vote bank is the Jat population. As per information, the Lok Sabha constituencies where there is maximum Jat population are Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Bijnor, Mathura, Baghpat, Amroha and Meerut. These could be the seats on which the RLD is likely to contest.

Notably, SP and RLD contested the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022 together.