Days after its talks with the Congress and Samajwadi Party failed, the Rashtriya Lok Dal released its second list of 35 candidates for the first and second phases of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. The list includes Anil Chauhan, the popular BJP leader from Kairana who joined the RLD on Friday. Mr. Chauhan had contested on BJP ticket in the Kairana byelection in 2014 and lost to Samajwadi Party's Nahid Hasan by little over 1,100 votes. He is the nephew of BJP MP from Shamli, Hukum Singh (in pic). Mr. Chauhan accused the BJP of “promoting” dynasty politics after the party reportedly almost finalised the name of Hukum Singh's daughter Mriganka Singh as its candidate from Kairana. Mr. Chauhan's joining RLD came as a surprise because until yesterday he was waiting for the BJP to declare its candidate for the Kairana seat.
A senior RLD leader told The Hindu that Mr. Chauhan joined the RLD when he got confirmation that the BJP had finalised the name of Mriganka Singh as the party candidate from Kairana. “Anil Chauhan was a serious contender for the BJP ticket from Kairana. In fact he had also started campaigning in the area. We are happy that he joined us as he is a popular leader in the area,” the RLD leader said. — Staff Reporter
