Akhilesh Yadav-Led SP, Jayant Chaudhary's RLD Forge Alliance For Lok Sabha Election 2024

Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) and Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have forged an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha Election in 2024.

Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chaudhary form alliance. ( Image Source :X/@yadavakhilesh )

Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) and Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have formed an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The SP supremo tweeted on Friday, "Congratulations to everyone on the Rashtriya Lok Dal-SP alliance".

राष्ट्रीय लोक दल और सपा के गठबंधन की सभी को बधाई!

जीत के लिए सभी एकजुट हो जाएं, जुट जाएं! pic.twitter.com/gIViekBEvV

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 19, 2024

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav expressed confidence on Wednesday that discussions regarding seat-sharing within the opposition's INDIA bloc would proceed smoothly, emphasising that the past discord between his party and Congress during the Madhya Pradesh elections was now resolved.

During a personal visit, Yadav informed reporters that his party would engage in seat-sharing talks with the Congress later in the day. "We have discussions today between Congress and SP on who will contest how many seats in the INDIA alliance. I am confident that the sharing of seats will be proper. The Samajwadi Party, Congress, and our allies together will defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh," Yadav was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Responding to inquiries about the previous failure of SP and Congress to reach a seat-sharing agreement before last year's Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, he dismissed it as a thing of the past. "That is over. It is an old thing and we should not discuss it. We are moving forward and looking ahead," Yadav affirmed. Despite the unexpected results in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP retained power, he expressed hope that the Samajwadi Party would play a pivotal role and become a force in the state similar to its position in Uttar Pradesh.

Asked about any displeasure towards BSP supremo Mayawati, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister told PTI, "I am not angry with any person." He reiterated the socialist ideology, emphasising that respect for the "PDA" (Pichhda, Dalit, Adivasi, and Alpsankhyak - backward classes, Dalits, tribals, and minority communities) was paramount for true "Ram Rajya."

"The true 'Ram Rajya' will arrive only when the people of PDA are respected. Illiteracy and inequality among them should be removed," he stated.

Regarding his stance on the January 22 consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Yadav commented, "The day is good. We expect that those who are publicising it should at least think about what a Ram Rajya is. A Ram Rajya for us is one that runs according to the Constitution."