Party demands more seats while expanding organisational footprint across eastern Uttar Pradesh before elections.
With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated preliminary seat-sharing discussions with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners as it looks to finalise its electoral strategy well ahead of the polls. Amid these discussions, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has indicated that it no longer wants to confine its political ambitions to western Uttar Pradesh. Party leaders told The Sunday Guardian that over the past few years, the RLD has significantly expanded its organisational network in eastern Uttar Pradesh and has held several public meetings and rallies across the region to strengthen its presence.
RLD National General Secretary (Organisation) Trilok Tyagi told The Sunday Guardian that the party recently participated in a meeting convened by BJP National President Nitin Nabin along with other NDA allies. Describing the discussions as “fruitful”, Tyagi said the alliance partners had resolved to begin preparations for all 403 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. He added that the focus of the meeting was to strengthen coordination among NDA partners and prepare a united strategy for the 2027 elections.
According to sources, the first round of seat-sharing negotiations has already taken place, with the RLD emerging as the first NDA ally to formally stake its claim. Sources within the party told The Sunday Guardian that the RLD has sought more than 50 Assembly seats for the 2027 elections.
The demand has triggered the initial phase of political bargaining within the NDA. However, BJP sources indicated that the party is currently inclined to allocate only 20 to 25 seats to the RLD. The gap between the two sides reflects the opening stage of what is expected to be a lengthy negotiation process before a final seatsharing formula is agreed upon.
The RLD has already directed its organisational machinery to intensify election preparations across Uttar Pradesh, with a special focus on nearly 50 Assembly constituencies. The move underlines the party’s strategy to expand beyond its traditional stronghold in western Uttar Pradesh and emerge as a pan-state political force.
Unlike previous elections, the RLD is now looking to establish a stronger presence in Purvanchal and other regions of the state. Party leaders are reportedly seeking seats in districts such as Basti, Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Deoria and Ballia, arguing that the party should be allotted winnable constituencies outside western Uttar Pradesh as part of its organisational expansion. The RLD’s top leadership has camped extensively in these districts to constitute block- and villagelevel booth committees. The party’s confidence is rooted in its performance in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, when it contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The RLD fielded candidates in 33 constituencies, winning eight seats while finishing second in around 15 others.
