Union Minister Ramdas Athawale's RPI(A) will contest 25 seats in the 2027 UP polls, with or without NDA ally BJP. Athawale also demanded five acres of land for Dalit families and the construction of community centres in villages.
Union Minister and Republican Party of India (Athawale) president Ramdas Athawale on Saturday announced that his party will contest on 25 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Athawale said that the party aims to contest alongside NDA ally, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, if their demands of contesting 25 seats alongside the BJP remain unfulfilled, the party said that it will go solo in the Uttar Pradesh polls. "In Uttar Pradesh, the party will contest 25 seats as an ally of the BJP. If this demand is not met, the party will contest the assembly elections alone," he said.
Athawale's Demands for Dalit Community
Going into the elections next year, Athawale asked the BJP to grant five acres of land to families of the Dalit community in villages and construct community centres. "Goondaraj has ended under Yogi Adityanath ji, and the Ram Temple issue is also resolved now. I have one demand for Yogi Adityanath, that Dalits in villages should be given five acres of land per family. This will resolve the issue of migration to cities, and people will be pulled out of poverty. The Dalit community demands that the state government construct 'Samaj Bhavans' (community centres) in villages. We will meet Yogi Adityanath today and urge him to take RPI together," he said.
RPI(A)'s Electoral Performance
RPI(A) is primarily a Maharashtra-based party working for the Dalit community. In the recent past, the party had contested three seats in Bihar and 18 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, RPI(A) contested 31 seats, winning none. In the Lok Sabha elections, RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale managed to win a seat in 2004. Apart from that, the party has not been able to open its tally in the General Elections. However, the party is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Athawale is a Rajya Sabha MP and Union Minister.
UP Assembly Elections Background
Uttar Pradesh is set to hold Legislative Assembly elections in 2027. In the last elections, the BJP recorded a thumping victory with 255 of 403 seats, while the Samajwadi Party won 111 seats. (ANI)
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