RLD state chief quits, hurls allegations at Jayant Chaudhary

In what can be termed as the first after-shock of Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll results, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) state president Masood Ahmed has resigned from the party, accusing the top leadership of selling tickets to candidates for the recently-concluded elections.

The RLD won eight of around three dozen seats it contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The state party unit already stood dissolved since the announcement of poll results on March 10.

Masood Ahmed also alleged that the alliance failed to wrest power from the BJP due blunders made by both RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary and SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

In a letter to Jayant Chaudhary, Ahmed alleged that tickets were sold to undeserving candidates, side-lining Muslims and Dalits. He also alleged that the RLD-SP alliance failed to come to power because of 'internal dictatorship'.

He further wrote in the letter that he had warned against Om Prakash Rajbhar's uncalled for statements that polarised voters. "Both leaders (Chaudhary and Akhilesh) did not pay attention to my words," he said

Masood Ahmed, who took over as RLD UP chief in 2017, sought a reply from Chaudhary and Akhilesh to the questions raised by him.

RLD spokesman Anil Dubey, however, said, "All the charges levelled by Masood Ahmed are baseless. Also, his resignation means nothing when the party unit already stood dissolved."