The silence of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), amidst reports of its meetings with leaders of the BJP-led NDA, signals the continuing unease between the INDIA bloc partners in Uttar Pradesh and opens up questions on the future of the partnership.

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are currently attempting to fend off issues and settle on seat-sharing numbers. The RLD, the third partner in the alliance which shares a relationship with the SP, was allotted seven seats by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in January. However, RLD leaders are said to be unhappy about the lack of clarity on which seats it will be contesting.

RLD president Jayant Chaudhary, who was elected Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh in 2022 with the SP’s support, has been maintaining silence on the recent reports of meetings with the BJP. Chaudhary has also remained silent over the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the interim

Union budget tabled in Parliament, the exit of the JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar from the INDIA alliance, and the Uniform Civil Code being passed in Uttarakhand.

His last two social media posts were on Republic Day and on Bharat Ratna being conferred on former Bihar chief minister and social justice leader Karpoori Thakur.

Sources told The Indian Express that other RLD leaders have also been told to avoid media queries about these speculations.

In another sign that all is not well between the SP and RLD, Akhilesh on Wednesday seemed to be attempting to dissuade the RLD from joining the NDA. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, he said: “Jayant Chaudhary is an educated person and he understands politics well. I am hopeful that he will not let the fight for farmers and prosperity of UP be weakened.”

SP MP Dimple Yadav, who is in Delhi to participate in the Parliament session, said Wednesday that she does not believe that Chaudhary would join hands with the BJP, which has “an anti-farmer record”. “I don’t think he will take any decision that would hurt the interests of farmers,” she said. Sources said the RLD was given to understand that it would be getting Baghpat, Kairana, Mathura, Hathras, and Fatehpur Sikri seats in its alliance with the SP, with discussions said to be ongoing regarding Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bijnor and Amroha.

An RLD leader said that there were other issues too.

“The SP wants to field some of its candidates on the RLD symbol. At a meeting of local party leaders of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, there was opposition regarding this,” the leader said.