Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket for farmer leader Rakesh Tikait

LUCKNOW: Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait joined Rashtriya Lok Dal on Friday. Rakesh, son of late BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait who had considerable influence in west UP, will contest from Amroha.

The development came as a surprise because Tikait had been critical of RLD and supported BJP. The Mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar that led to communal riots in west UP was jointly addressed by leaders of BKU and BJP.

"I had to choose between RLD and others. I found RLD better. It is the party that has taken up the issue of farmers," Tikait told TOI. When asked about the Mahapanchayat, he said: "It was called by us. There were so many people from various sections who joined us, some from BJP may have also come."

With Tikait's candidature, RLD has declared names of all eight candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The party has not fielded any Muslim candidate though Anju, Bulandshahr candidate, is married into a Muslim family. The other seven candidates are RLD chief Ajit Singh (Baghpat), Jayant Chaudhary (Mathura), Jaya Prada (Bijnor), Amar Singh (Fatehpur Sikri), Kartar Singh Bhadana (Kairana), Niranjan Dhangar (Hathras) and Rakesh Tikait (Amroha).

RLD state president Munna Singh Chauhan said Tikait joined the party in Delhi in the presence of Ajit Singh and his son Jayant. "This will strengthen the bonding between the Jats and RLD," he said.

The move is an attempt by Ajit Singh to woo Jat voters who hold the key to party's success. The communal riots have led to polarization of votes, while drifting the Jats towards BJP.