Eyeing votes in Rajasthan, Sharad Yadav to hold rally in Jaipur

Loktantrik Janta Dal leader Sharad Yadav would be in Jaipur on August 5 to address a rally of his party. 

Yadav’s political outing in Rajasthan comes barely two months after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar addressed a rally in Banswara. Yadav will also inaugurate the office of his party in Jaipur.  The visit is being seen as Yadav’s first step towards exploring political prospects in Rajasthan.   

Experts believe that while Nitish is looking to tap the areas in southern Rajasthan, Sharad Yadav hopes to woo voters in the Yadav belt of Jaipur and Alwar districts. BJP and Janta Dal have a history of seat sharing in Rajasthan and BJP would not field candidates on certain seats like Kotputli, Tijara, Bagidora, Kushalgarh to accomodate JD. But this is now a thing of the past. The last time JD was accommodated was in 2008 assembly elections. But with Nitish Kumar opposing Narendra Modi, the sharing formula did not materalise in 2013. Since then there has been a spilit in Janta Dal and two factions are independently looking for political space in Rajasthan.