Lok Dal Candidate Supports Rashtriya Lok Dal

| | Lucknow | in Lucknow

The Rashtriya Lok Dal’s bid to resurrect the Jat-Muslim coalition and add Dalit to it making it invincible, seems to have failed to take off in the Kairana Lok Sabha by byolls. Reason : cadres of Bahujan Samaj Party remained somewhat indifferent during the poll. 

The united opposition candidate from RLD, a Muslim woman was supported by Samajwadi party, BSP and Congress. 

The alliance of four parties -  RLD, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress decided to field a Muslim for the by poll, with the hope of undoing the communal and social divide between the two communities after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. 

RLD leaders complained that the BSP led from the front in supporting the SP candidates in bypolls at Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats and BSP leaders held joint press conference with SP leaders at both places following directions from chief Mayawati.

A RLD leader said, “However, the spirit was missing at Kairana, None of the local BSP leaders in Shamli, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar came forward to join our election campaign. There was no apparent mobilisation of Dalit voters by the BSP to back the joint opposition candidate.” 

The RLD leader however concede that for Dalits, land owning dominant Jat community are traditional tormentors and both communities do not share a harmonious relation. 

“Coupled with traditional hostility between them, the absence of any effort from BSP cadres at the grass root level to mobilize Dalit voters, may harm the poll prospects of the RLD candidate,’’said he.

RLD sources said Kairana was a challenging election and a huge opportunity to resurrect the old social coalition and expand it by roping in Dalits. 

Kairana Lok Sabha constituency has nearly 16 lakh voters, including at least 5 lakh Muslims, 2.5 lakh Dalits apart from substantial number of Jats. 

BJP candidate in Kairana, Mriganka Singh was pitted against joint opposition RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan. The seat fell vacant due to death of BJP member and Mriganka’s father, Hukum Singh.