Congress Plays Down Reports That RLD Might Leave Opposition Alliance in UP

“It is for the RLD to clarify their position. The SP has already clarified that it is with the Congress. We have invited all our allies to join the yatra and we hope they will attend. I don’t think Rahul Gandhi’s yatra would be impacted by any development. Our preparations for a successful yatra are going on,” told AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande to ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi:The Congress on Thursday played down reports that RLD might join hands with the BJP to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Nyay Yatra, which will enter Uttar Pradesh on February 16. Similar disruptions to the yatra had recently occurred in Bihar where JD-U joined hands with the BJP and in Jharkhand where the saffron party allegedly made attempts to break the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance.

“It is for the RLD to clarify their position. The SP has already clarified that it is with the Congress. We invited all our allies to join the yatra and we hope they will attend. I don’t think Rahul Gandhi’s yatra would be impacted by any development. Our preparations for a successful yatra are going on,” AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told ETV Bharat.

The Congress leader’s comment came amid reports that RLD, which had offered seven Lok Sabha seats in western Uttar Pradesh by the SP, might join the BJP-led NDA for just four parliamentary seats. The presence of RLD, a strong player in western parts of the state, is crucial to both the alliances in the state.

As speculation grew over RLD, both SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav, Lok Sabha MP from Mainpuri in western Uttar Pradesh noted on Wednesday that RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary was a wise leader, who had been fighting for the rights of the farmers and would not do anything thing to compromise their position.

The Congress, too, expressed similar views on Thursday. “Jayant Chaudhary is a well-known farmer leader. He is part of the opposition alliance and we hope to stay together. The BJP did try to disrupt the yatra in Bihar and Jharkhand, but we can’t respond to speculations. We will react as per the situation,” AICC secretary in-charge of UP Pradeep Narwal told ETV Bharat.

According to Narwal, Akhilesh Yadav had confirmed that he would join the yatra either in Rae Bareli or Amethi, the traditional bastions of former Congress chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Congress insiders said in the eventuality of RLD moving towards BJP, the INDIA alliance could hope to rope in BSP, which would help the opposition in western Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress insiders also cited how Akhilesh Yadav was backing Rahul Gandhi’s charge that PM Modi was not born an OBC, but was included in the list by the Gujarat government in 2000. “I will respond to what Rahul Gandhi said but some people are indeed OBC not by birth, but by certificate,” Akhilesh said on Thursday.

“Local leaders in Amethi and Rae Bareli started making preparations for the yatra’s entry. Hopefully, Priyanka Gandhi would also join Rahul Gandhi there,” said a senior state unit leader. Over the past days, Pande has been reminding the district unit chiefs that the voters saw in them a reflection of the Congress high command and it was their responsibility to revive the party in the state.