Jayant Choudhary confirmed joining NDA, said – took the decision after talking to the MLAs, it is an honor for us for Dada to get Bharat Ratna.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary confirmed his joining NDA on Monday (February 13). He said- I decided to join NDA after talking to the party MLAs and workers. There was no big planning behind this decision. The circumstances were such that we had to take this decision in a very short time.

Jayant Chaudhary is the grandson of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. The Central Government had announced the award of Bharat Ratna to Charan Singh on 9 February. Jayant Chaudhary said- We all are happy with grandfather getting Bharat Ratna. It is a matter of honor for our family. BJP has also honored the farmers, youth and poor of the country.

On February 9 itself, Jayant had given indications of leaving I.N.D.I.A and joining NDA. He had said- How can I refuse? Modi ji won hearts. Is there any stone left now? This is a big day. An emotional and memorable moment for me.

What is the political status of Jayant Chaudhary in Western UP?
Jayant Chaudhary is one of the big leaders of Western Uttar Pradesh. Jayant’s party has been getting support from the Jats of western Uttar Pradesh since the 1970s. 99% of Jats living in UP live in 27 Lok Sabha constituencies of Western UP.

Jayant Chaudhary’s grandfather and former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh was the biggest Jat leader of his time. In the 1969 assembly elections, Charan Singh’s Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) won 98 out of 402 seats. During this period the party’s vote share was 21.29%.

During this period, he got full support from all the castes including Jats and Muslims of Western UP. This is also evident from the fact that till his death in 1987, his party’s vote share remained close to 20% in the elections. In 1999, Chaudhary Ajit Singh again launched his party in the name of Rashtriya Lok Dal i.e. RLD.

After his father, Ajit Singh could not handle the traditional votes of his father Chaudhary Charan Singh and he remained only the leader of Jats and Muslims. The remaining gap was filled by the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013. Due to this, Ajit Singh’s RLD suffered huge losses. Jat vote bank got dispersed from RLD. However, during the farmers’ movement, Ajit Singh and his son Jayant supported the farmers.

The farmers’ movement was being led by both Jats and Muslims together. Once again the Muslims along with the Jats trusted Jayant. The result was that RLD won one seat in the 2017 assembly elections, which increased to 8 in 2022.

Why does BJP need Jayant even though there is no seat in the Lok Sabha elections?

There are a total of 27 Lok Sabha seats in Western UP. Of these, in 14 seats of Meerut, Saharanpur and Moradabad divisions, the vote of Jats decides victory and defeat. Jayant Chaudhary’s party RLD has been playing a decisive role on these seats.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, out of these 14 seats, BJP had won only 7 seats, while out of 7 seats, BSP had won 4 and SP had won 3. This time under Mission 370, BJP wants to win all the 14 seats of Jatland in Western UP. BJP knows that this is not possible without the support of Jayant Chaudhary and his party.

Western UP has about 18% Jat population, which directly impacts the elections. That means, the outright vote of the Jat community has been deciding the victory or defeat of any party in Western UP.