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The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress on Friday taunted Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary for not being accommodated on the dais at the meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lawmakers, saying it was an insult to Chaudhary and the jat community.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected the interpretation, and underlined that Chaudhary could not be accommodated on the dais due to space constraints at the NDA meeting to formally endorse Narendra Modi for a third term.
On social media, several opposition leaders from Uttar Pradesh counted Jayant Chaudhary’s exclusion from the dais an insult to the RLD, which has 2 Lok Sabha MPs, though Apna Dal (S) president Anupriya Patel and Hindustan Awami Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, both of whom have won just one seat each, were seated on the stage.
A senior BJP leader said space constraints did not allow more than 13 chairs to be placed on the stage.
To be sure, Andhra Pradesh’s JanaSena Party led by Pawan Kalyan, who was on the stage, also has two MPs in Lok Sabha.
In a post on X, Samajwadi Party’s media cell said Jayant Chaudhary should walk away from the NDA.
UP Congress president Ajay Rai said this wasn’t a first.
The RLD was part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc but switched sides weeks before the national elections were announced.
RLD MLA Anil Kumar said too much was being made of the seating arrangement.
Source: SP, Cong taunt Jayant Chaudhary over his seat at NDA meet; BJP leader explains