A large section of party workers in the Rashtriya Lok Dal want RLD MP Jayant Choudhury to lead the party in Uttar Pradesh.
RLD UP president Baba Hardev Singh had resigned last week, owing to “ideological” differences with the party leadership.
“This is the time for the young to take over the party. Akhilesh Yadav is leading the Samajwadi Party and Rahul Gandhi is about to take over the reins in the Congress. The Rashtriya Lok Dal will get a much-needed makeover if Jayant Choudhury is asked to lead the party. He can easily attract the youth and rejuvenate the party,” said Dinesh Tyagi, a RLD leader from Meerut.
A large group of party workers is now planning to launch a signature campaign, demanding the appointment of Jayant Choudhury as the state president. “We plan to get around 10,000 signatures and send them to Choudhury Ajit Singh for action,” said a party worker.
Party sources, on the other hand, said that among the front-runners for the state president’s post are former ministers Kokab Hamid and Munna Singh Chauhan. While Mr Kokab Hamid belongs to western UP, Mr Munna Singh Chauhan belongs to eastern UP where the RLD is trying to find a foothold.
The balance is presently tilted in favour of Mr Hamid.