New Alignment: Amit Shah’s Overtures To RLD Leader Jayant Chaudhury Unnerves Akhilesh Yadav

For all the bluff and bluster about rebuffing BJP’s overtures to him Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Jayant Chaudhury is seriously considering the offer. Prior to his Mathura visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached out to Jat leaders from Western UP on January 26. The region will vote in the first phase of assembly elections on February 10. Shah met them in Delhi to explain the futility of the SP-RLD alliance. The alliance, he said, would not help Jayant Chaudhary but allow Azam Khan to rule, a message Jats in the area also concur with. Shah’s overtures to Jayant has unnerved Akhilesh Yadav after he got a number of Muslim candidates contesting on RLD tickets from Muslim dominated areas. This left Jats with little alternative than abandoning their preferred party and shifting their vote as they were wary of Muslims since the 2013 Muzzaffarnagar riots. Shah assured Jat leaders over their demands for reservation and promised a Bharat Ratna for their leader Chaudhary Charan Singh. He emphasised the economic advantages if BJP returns to power in UP, for the completion of the Jewar airport in NCR. Summing up the mood of the Jats, Muzzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan said “Jats will still vote for BJP as they cannot see Akhilesh Yadav as CM. Jats know that BJP respects them.”