Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: After being expelled from his parent party-- Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)-- on the charge of indulging in cross-voting in favour of BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha election to 10 seats in UP on March 23, lone RLD MLA Sahendra Singh Ramala joined the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Monday.

An MLA from Chaprauli assembly segment of Baghpat parliamentary constituency, Ramala joined the saffron bandwagon along with his supporters in the presence of state BJP chief Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey. Chaprauli is a Jat-dominated constituency so is Baghpat which is known to be an RLD bastion.

Consequently, Ramala's joining is being seen as a shot in BJP's arm just ahead of Kairana and Noorpur bypolls on May 28 as both the seats have a considerable chunk of Jat voters and Ramala is supposed to have a respectable clout among the jats of western UP.

In the given scenario, where the upcoming bypolls will be deemed to be another referendum on Yogi government as well as BJP ruled Centre ahead of 2019, Ramala's induction into the party fold may come handy for the saffron think tank to counter the SP-BSP cordiality as also the expected tie-up between Congress and RLD, if it takes shape at all.

However, Ramala's defection has left the RLD without a representation in UP Assembly. On the other, while joining the BJP, Ramala said that his decision had come after considering the policies and initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Soon after his expulsion from his party in March, Ramala had accused Ajit Singh of political opportunism as he was allegedly adopting dual standards by attempting to open channels both with the BJP as well as the BSP simultaneously.

Pandey said Ramala's induction in the party would strengthen the party in the region which has been the 'karmbhoomi' of legendary farmer leader and former CM Chaudhary Charan Singh. "The BJP government will fulfill the dreams of Charan Singh,'' he said.