BJP gave RLD respect, decision on alliance yet to be taken: UP minister

Lucknow: The Rashtriya Lok Dal's alliance with the BJP in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls had proved "most advantageous" for the Jayant Chaudhary-led party as it had won five seats and any decision on forging an alliance with the Samajwadi Party ally is yet to be taken, Uttar Pradesh minister Kapil Dev Aggarwal has said.

He also claimed that the RLD's voters were today attracted towards the BJP.

The minister's remarks come days after the RLD accused the BJP of spreading rumours about the party joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

A delegation of RLD MLAs had on Wednesday met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath triggering speculation that the party might join the BJP-led NDA.

However, talking to PTI, RLD national spokesperson Anil Dubey had said the party MLAs met the chief minister to highlight the problems of farmers due to drought and floods.

This is being projected as a preparation for the RLD to join the NDA, which is "false", Dubey had said, adding the BJP was worried about the popularity of the RLD and that is why it is engaging in "propaganda".

Aggarwal said whether the RLD forges an alliance with the BJP or not in the Lok Sabha polls early next year will be decided by the BJP's leadership and RLD chief Chaudhary.

"It is not my job. However, I would definitely say that the RLD's voters are today attracted towards the BJP," Aggarwal, the MLA from Muzaffarnagar which is in Western Uttar Pradesh, told PTI in an interview.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the RLD had an alliance with the BJP, and it had won five seats. In the subsequent polls, they did not have an MP in the lower house, he said.

"This means that for the RLD, its alliance with the BJP has proved to be most advantageous," he said.

He asserted that the BJP has given the RLD respect and reservation.

Currently, the RLD is an ally of the Samajwadi Party, and had contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections with the SP.

The RLD has nine MLAs in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

The western Uttar Pradesh-centric party under the leadership of Ajit Singh had fought the 2009 Lok Sabha elections with the BJP. While the BJP had won 10 seats, the RLD had bagged five seats.

As far as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is concerned, Aggarwal said it has "weakened" over a period of time and its traditional voters are being attracted towards the BJP.

"The BJP may not be the first choice for them, but it is definitely the second choice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given them security, patronage and work is being done for their development and make them competent. They are seeing it," Aggarwal said.

He added that the law and order situation has improved, and now "daughters from the Dalit community are pursuing B.Tech and M.Tech, and becoming scientists and professors".

The three-time BJP MLA from Muzaffarnagar also said that a large number of youths from western Uttar Pradesh are joining the Army and are full of patriotism.

"Unlike in the past, when bodies (of jawans) used to come on a daily basis from Kashmir and Assam, as terror incidents took place daily, today terrorism has been controlled 95 per cent. This is after Modi came to power," he said.

"The farmers of western Uttar Pradesh are seeing that after Modi came to power, terrorism has ended, the number of bodies (of jawans) coming there has reduced to minimum, and the border has become secured," Aggarwal said.

The minister also asserted the opposition bloc INDIA "will have no impact in Uttar Pradesh, and that the Congress is almost moving towards zero (seats). The BJP has 80 per cent of vote share, while the rest are fighting for 20 per cent." On SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's assertion that the BJP will be wiped out in the upcoming elections, Aggarwal said, "He had said it last time (2022 Assembly elections) as well. The seats, which he (Akhilesh) has currently, those (seats) will also not remain with him".

"People have come to know what type of politics is done by Akhilesh Yadav, what type of anti-social elements have joined hands with him. Even his own voters are unhappy with him," he claimed.

On the issue of skill development, the minister said after the Global Investor Summit in Lucknow in February 2023, people from all across the world are coming here to invest, and it is natural that they have to select youngsters from here only, apart from senior technical professionals.

"So, what type of manpower do they need, we are doing the skill-mapping for it, and are also consulting the industry people for it," he added.

The UP minister also said that prime minister is working to make India a USD 5 trillion dollar economy, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is working to make Uttar Pradesh a USD 1 trillion economy.

However, the children of the country need to be skilled to realise this dream, he said, adding his department is working at a faster pace so that they could make the children skilled, link them with technical education, and make them all-rounders.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) of over Rs 5,000 crore with Tata Technologies to upgrade 150 ITIs in the state, he added.