Lok Sabha elections: Alliance speculations rife after Congress meets RLP

JAIPUR: A day after chief minister Ashok Gehlot held a closed-door meeting with Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) head Hanuman Beniwal, deputy CM and Congress state president Sachin Pilot too held discussions with the party that was born barely five months ago. Sources said the two parties are attempting a pre-poll alliance in the state for the Lok Sabha elections .

Reports said that Gehlot and Beniwal again met at the former’s residence late on Sunday evening to discuss the alliance. Till the last reports came in the meeting between the two leaders was going on. Unconfirmed reports also stated that deputy CM Sachin Pilot has joined the two leaders.

Beniwal has demanded three Lok Sabha (LS) seats—Nagaur, Barmer and Pali— and in turn has assured support in 10 parliamentary seats in Shekhawati and western Rajasthan. RLP in its maiden attempt in the Vidhan Sabha elections held in December 2018, emerged as the fourth biggest party with a vote share of 2.4% (8.5 lakh votes). The meeting between Pilot and Beniwal concluded on a positive note.

Sources close to Gehlot have confirmed that both the leaders reached a positive conclusion over seat sharing in the meeting thta was held on Saturday evening. “They have met thrice, exploring the possibility of an alliance. The meeting with Pilot is at an advanced stage. Both the leaders might strike a deal and announce it in the coming days,” said a source in the Congress party.

RLP has won three seats—Khinvsar, Bhopalgarh and Merta. In the first two seats, RLP’s main opponents were Congress candidates. It stood second on two other seats—Baytu and Jayal—giving a tough competition to Congress candidates. The new party claims to have scripted the defeat of Congress in other 10 seats, while highlighting the importance of the alliance.

“RLP has assured Congress of delivering an average of one lakh votes in Pali, Jodhpur , Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur and Sikar to the Congress candidates. The claims were made on the basis of vote share RLP achieved in the Vidhan Sabha polls,” said a senior RLP leader, who was part of the meetings.

Snatching a deal with the Congress at a time when the grand old party has failed to form an alliance nationally is an uphill task, opined the RLP leader, who has reminded Congress that time is running out for both the parties as the BJP has already fielded candidates on 16 seats.

The five-month-old party is dealing with the Congress on an equal footing. RLP knows it was not in a position to win any seat without the Congress support but if it fields candidates in 10-15 LS seats, it can cause great damage to the Congress.