In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) veteran had told this journalist that Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary’s tone and tenor in his speeches suggested that he was only asking farmers to return the favour following the Bharat Ratna being bestowed on former Prime Minister and his grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh by the BJP-led Centre.
By taking the oath of office and secrecy in English — he was the only one from the Hindi heartland to do so and this promptly became a headline in a prominent Hindi newspaper — Mr. Chaudhary has again shown that he will continue to tread his own path even if it appears in variance with ally BJP’s line of action.
Reflecting his commitment to a pan-Indian responsibility, he didn’t chant anti-Muslim rhetoric that was being spewed by the BJP leadership, preferred the use of ‘Ram, Ramji’ over Jai Shri Ram to greet the electorate and remained steadfast on underlining that the celebration of his grandfather’s legacy should reflect in the BJP’s commitment towards farmers’ interests.
Different moves
Earlier, some of his political decisions had impressed observers of the State’s politics. He had opted to nominate a Dalit MLA to join the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh, picked a seasoned party worker to contest from the family stronghold of Baghpat and spent the maximum sum of his MPLAD fund on improving the sports infrastructure in the region.
The die of the 2024 Lok Sabha has been cast in such a way that RLD has emerged as the biggest gainer among the BJP allies in U.P. The party has retained the Baghpat seat for the NDA and has wrested the Bijnor seat from Bahujan Samaj Party. It could not win Muzaffarnagar and Kairana for the BJP but the onus of the defeat lies squarely with the ruling party that suffered because of internecine battles and ill-effects of the 400 paar slogan.
The buzz is that had the BJP not aligned with the RLD for the general election, it would have suffered more losses in the western belt of the politically crucial State.
The most remarkable example of BJP’s dependence on RLD was visible in Fatehpur Sikri where on the last day of campaigning, BJP candidate Raj Kumar Chahar, national president of the party’s Kisan Morcha who won the previous election by a margin of around five lakh votes, had to bring in Mr. Chaudhary to make an appeal for him. With folded hands, he apologised to the public and in an emotional moment referred to the PM as Chaudhary Narendra Modi. Mr. Chahar won the seat with around 43,000 votes against a modest retired sepoy who made the Agnipath scheme a central part of his poll campaign.
Political observers say an electorally-weakened BJP in the State has no other option but to serenade Mr. Chaudhary. BJP leader Ajay Mishra Teni’s loss in Lakhimpur Kheri, Union Minister Sanjiv Balyan facing defeat in Muzaffarnagar and State President Bhupendra Chaudhary failing to win even his home turf of Moradabad for his party are some of the disappointing outcomes for the party.
It reflects in the faith that the BJP’s top leadership has shown by appointing Mr. Chaudhary as the Union Minister of State with independent charge of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The ministry is the brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Besides, he has been made Minister of State in the Union Education Ministry. These are ministries where Mr. Chaudhary could serve the rural and semi-urban youth, his core vote bank by generating employment, said a former RLD MLA.
He has the opportunity to temper the chaudhrahat (lordship) of the lathi-wielding Jat farmer that sometimes creates a negative perception among most backward castes in the region. Those close to him feel that by taking the oath in English he has sent a message to his vote bank as well as his opponents to break the social stereotypes and come out of negative mindsets. Old-timers remind the public that the RLD has always benefited when it has joined hands with the BJP and if “Jayant could get something for the farmers on the MSP and makes government review the Agniveer scheme, the partnership will pay long-term dividends.”
However, what Mr. Chaudhary had said after getting elected to Rajya Sabha in 2022 with the help of Samajwadi Party is equally pertinent. “It is becoming harder and harder for anyone to explain a change in positioning. In earlier times, it could happen. Now, you have no right to forget what you once said,” he had told The Hindu.
It was the RLD leader who had earlier proposed the idea of an equal opportunities commission or social justice commission, a constitutional body that would look into the representation of the backwards, Dalits and rural youth in the private sector. It echoes with the language that the INDIA bloc spoke throughout its campaign in U.P. The youth had faith that Mr. Singh would raise his voice for changes in the Agnipath scheme as part of the government.
Meanwhile, Muslim voters who played a crucial role in the nine seats that the RLD holds in the U.P. Assembly are feeling disappointed. The party’s two Muslim MLAs have not deserted it after the alliance with the BJP but local SP leaders say that if polls are conducted today, the RLD would be on a sticky wicket. They also said that a bypoll in Meerapur, necessitated following RLD MLA Chandan Chauhan winning the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat, will be a litmus test for the BJP-RLD alliance.
Published - June 14, 2024 02:01 am IST
