Kairana bypoll to decide RLD position in Front

NEW DELHI: The Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll has given an opportunity for the Ajit Singh-headed Rashtriya Lok Dal to check its support base among Jat voters who had deserted it for the BJP in 2014. RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan has been backed by other main opposition parties of Uttar Pradesh, namely SP, BSP and Congress.

Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Choudhary covers 12 to 15 villages every day to campaign for Tabassum in the scorching heat and never misses to invoke the legacy of his grandfather, former prime minister Charan Singh.

“This is not an ordinary election. This is the semi-final before the 2019 polls. We tell our voters that our political identity is that of Choudhary Saheb (Charan Singh),” said RLD leader Sudhir Bhartiya, who was at the party office in Shamli. Charan Singh is credited for bringing Jats and Muslims on the same political platform in western UP. “Kisano Majlumo Ham Jo Kuchcha Bhee hai, Choudhari Charan Singh Kee wajah se hai,” says a pamphlet with a 11-point appeal to voters to support RLD.

If RLD wins Kairana, it would send out a positive message about the party’s possible revival of its support base among Jats. A win will also help RLD to show its potential as a political force and earn a place in the anti-BJP front in UP, which is likely to comprise the BSP, SP and Congress.

RLD has tried to highlight issues relating to farmers in the areas. “Farmers have not received payments from sugar mills, electricity charges have escalated and youth do not get jobs in the sports quota. We highlight these issues in our campaign,” said local RLD leader Yogendra Singh. Other RLD leaders said that there was coordination among local leaders of BSP, SP and Congress. “SP state president Naresh Uttam has already been camping in this constituency. BSP zonal coordinator Shamsuddin Rain was recently in the area,” said an RLD leader. Meanwhile, Lok Dal’s Kanwar Hasan has withdrawn and announced his support for Tabassum.

BJP has realised the challenge of retaining its support base among Jats and has deployed several MLAs from western UP to seek support for party candidate Mriganka Singh, daughter of Hukum Singh, whose death necessitated the bypoll.