‘Won my heart’: RLD chief hints at poll alliance with BJP

New Delhi, February 9

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary on Friday signalled positive outcomes for the ongoing Lok Sabha pre-poll alliance talks with the ruling BJP saying the government had won his heart by honouring his grandfather and late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh with the Bharat Ratna.

“Dil jeet liya,” Jayant, currently part of the anti-BJP INDIA bloc, said on X today after the news broke. Describing the feeling as one of absolute elation, Jayant said today was a big day. “It is an emotional moment for me, a memorable occasion. I thank President Droupadi Murmu, the Government of India and especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to honour Chaudhary Charan Singh ji with the Bharat Ratna,” Jayant said.

Asked if he would ally with the BJP, Jayant said, “Koi kasar rehti hai? (is anything left to be said?”. He, however, added that he was yet to announce any alliance. Importantly, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, chief architect of the INDIA bloc, also returned to the BJP-led NDA days after the announcement of the Bharat Ratna for late OBC icon from the state Karpoori Thakur.

Parallel to the BJP-RLD talks, YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament today just two days after TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu held parleys with BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP appears engaged with both dominant Andhra Pradesh parties — the ruling YSRCP and the opposition TDP for a pre-poll understanding in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.

The BJP currently has no Lok Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh. Jagan’s meeting with the PM also came on the day when the PM announced the Bharat Ratna for his late predecessor PV Narasimha Rao, a Telugu. Narasimha Rao’s grandson NV Subhash welcomed the Bharat Ratna for the late PM