RLD’s 2-pronged strategy to make gains in UP polls

Lucknow: Signalling an early start to its campaign for UP Assembly elections, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal has launched a two-pronged strategy of organisational restructuring and grassroots mobilisation in its stronghold of western Uttar Pradesh. Days after the party’s national executive resolved to overhaul its UP organisational structure, the RLD has lined up major public rallies of Union minister and party president Jayant Chaudhary in Shamli on June 4 and Moradabad on June 10, to bolster its support base and expand into areas where it lacks dominance. The first rally is in Kabaraut village of Shamli Sadar constituency, represented by RLD MLA Prasanna Chaudhary and the second in Thakurdwara constituency of Moradabad, which was won by Samajwadi Party’s Nawab Jan in 2022. SP was an RLD ally then.“We seek to build up the poll fervour in our stronghold as part of preparation for the 2027 elections,” said RLD state general secretary Aatir Rizvi.A senior RLD member said the party’s aim is to augment its position in constituencies where it can stake claim as an ally of the BJP-led NDA.The choice of Shamli and Moradabad is seen as a calibrated move. Reason: Shamli is one of RLD’s influential pockets where it enjoys substantial support of its traditional Jat and Gurjar voters. So is the case with Thakurdwara, where the rally, it is learnt, is being organised by BSP turncoat Vijay Yadav, who joined the RLD earlier this year. Yadav won the seat on a BSP ticket in 2007.RLD has never won from Thakurdwara. SP’s Nawab Jan has been winning the seat since the 2014 Assembly bypoll after the seat was vacated by BJP’s Kunwar Sarvesh Singh. RLD, analysts said, has been seeking to raise its stature since it joined the NDA before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The alliance with the BJP provided the RLD greater access to power at the Centre, culminating in Jayant Chaudhary’s induction into the Union Cabinet. However, it also created new political challenges, including the need to retain its traditional farmer-centric identity while aligning with the BJP’s wider political narrative.