The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), which had recently quit the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws, on Wednesday announced that it will field candidates for the upcoming byelections to four Assembly seats in Rajasthan. It has one seat in the Lok Sabha and three members in the Assembly.
RLP chief and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal said at a press conference here the party would raise the issues of complete agricultural loan waiver, free-of-cost power supply to farmers and unemployment allowance for the youths. He alleged that the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP, facing internal rift, were helping each other in the implementation of anti-farmer policies.
The bypolls, necessitated by the death of MLAs, will be held in Sujangarh, Vallabhnagar, Sahara and Rajsamand constituencies. Mr. Beniwal said the Congress had failed to fulfil the promises made in its manifesto, while the small and marginal farmers, labourers and common people were suffering amid the lack of governance and confusion on policy direction.
“Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot needs to address the issues directly affecting the people before organising kisan mahapanchayats... In fact, the Congress has joined hands with the BJP to help each other in difficult situations and deny the legitimate rights to peasants and poor people.”
Mr. Beniwal — a former BJP MLA and a vocal critic of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje — had formed the RLP in 2018 with the support of Jats, who constitute a politically powerful community in more than a dozen Lok Sabha constituencies. The BJP entered into an alliance with the RLP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when Mr. Beniwal was fielded and won from the Nagaur seat.
The RLP chief said he had extended support to the ongoing agitation of farmers and the repeal of the agriculture sector laws would be a major issue in his party’s election campaign. RLP MLAs Pukhraj Garg, who is also party’s State president, Narayan Beniwal and Indira Devi were also present at the press conference.
The RLP was the second ally of the BJP, after the Shiromani Akali Dal, to break off its ties with the ruling party at the Centre over the three farm laws. After resigning from three parliamentary committees, Mr. Beniwal had announced the decision to quit the NDA at a massive rally of farmers at Shahjahanpur, near the Rajasthan-Haryana border, on December 26.