Akhilesh & I are giving people a new paradigm: Rashtriya Lok Dal chief

'We are putting up a good fight', said Jayant Singh Chaudhary

Accusing the BJP of adopting a “divide and rule” policy, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Singh Chaudhary, in an interview with Nitin Kumar, says the negative politics of communal hatred, caste, and fear will not work in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Chaudhary, who has formed an alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), also talks of why UP is looking for a new leadership to deliver results on the economic and social front. Edited excerpts:

This Assembly election is your first political battle (earlier the party was led by Ajit Singh, Jayant’s father). How confident are you that you’ll be able to fulfil your promise to work “just like” your father?

We are putting up a good fight. I’m confident that because of our commitments to issues, voters will give us a chance. Chaudhary Charan Singh (Jayant’s grandfather, who was UP chief minister and prime minister) was known for his good administration and governance. Chaudhary Ajit Singh had a vision where he encouraged industrialisation and development in Western UP and North India. This is the background with which I’m going to the voters. UP wants change. The voters will give us a chance.

What are the real issues in this election?

Electricity costs, employment, farmer distress, and the state’s small-scale industries are the issues that are at the heart of this election. In the last two years, the governments have done nothing to provide succour and support to the people who are at the bottom of the pyramid.

But the brass of the BJP — Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and Yogi Adityanath — are talking about Jat prestige, the Kairana exodus, and the Muzzaffarnagar riots. Why?

Someone who believes in negative politics or has a negative mindset will talk on these lines. They are trying to stoke emotions to build fear and use that. They have done nothing and that is why they are trying to divert attention.

So, do you think they will reap the benefits of these?

I feel voters want to take the state forward. Akhilesh and I are giving the people a new paradigm and leadership. This is why the people will come to us.

You said that since Charan Singh’s time, your parties (the RLD and its previous incarnations such as the Bharatiya Kranti Dal) have focused on employment and industry. The ruling party alleges that there are no factories in Western UP other than sugarcane because of the previous regimes or leaderships. Your views…

One District One Product (ODOP) is the BJP’s key scheme. What have we achieved with it? Is the Meerut sports industry in a good position? Is the tourism industry in Agra healthy? Are the jaggery or agri industries doing well? Is the food-processing industry in UP doing well? What’s the state of the dairy sector?

If so, what plans do you have for establishing an industrial hub in Western UP?

We need to augment the infrastructure, only then will industry come. Law and order is the first thing that investors look at. We are talking about our rurban (Rural+Urban) infrastructural development. We are also keen in targeting industries like food processing and information technology. These will bring in investments of Rs 25,000 crore and 2.1 million jobs.

We will give grants to the top 100 patents and foreign scholarships to students.

But the BJP says during the SP rule, crime and riots were at their peak. However, the National Crime Records Bureau data speaks otherwise. What is your take on this?

From 2016 to 2019, if we look at any data, UP is one of the worst states in the country. We cannot forget cases like Unnao, Hathras, and Bulandshahr because the victims there were denied justice. There are so many cases that don’t even get reported.

The farmers’ protests had been a key poll issue till November last year. Don’t you think the BJP will reap the benefits of the repeal of the three farm laws?

There is no benefit from correcting a mistake — after a year at that — and in not providing for the families that were agitating, not giving them respect, calling them terrorists, and not providing justice to the Lakhimpur Kheri victims. Ajay Mishra Teni is still a respected minister. And of course we lost 13 months and 700 members.

Recently, Union Home Minister and BJP chief poll strategist Amit Shah called your decision to form an alliance with the SP a “wrong choice” and offered you an alliance. Why do you think the BJP has made it clear that its door will remain open for you even after the elections?

They are just trying to create confusion and division in our ranks.