Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had won his heart by deciding to confer the Bharat Ratna on his grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. Jayant’s party sources indicated he would be joining the NDA.
Modi also received thanks from the daughters of the two other luminaries chosen for the country’s highest civilian honour: former Congress Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, the architect of India’s Green Revolution.
“Dil jeet liya! (You have won my heart),” Jayant wrote on X, reacting to Modi’s post that announced the honour for Charan Singh, a farmer leader who headed a Janata Party government for less than six months in 1979-80.
Jayant later told reporters: “Modiji has proved that he understands and knows the core values and nature of the country.”
RLD sources said the BJP had given a positive response to the conditions Jayant had set for joining the NDA.
“The BJP has said it will give five Lok Sabha seats to the RLD to contest in Uttar Pradesh. It will also give a legislative council (state Upper House) seat to the party. The Yogi Adityanath government has agreed to appoint two RLD legislators as ministers. With this, Jayant has agreed to change sides,” a senior RLD leader said, seeking anonymity.
The RLD has nine MLAs in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
A source close to Jayant said he had “discussed all the pros and cons” with ally and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on January 19 “and only then resolved to go with the NDA”.
Rao’s daughter and Bharat Rashtra Samiti MLC Vani Devi praised Modi, saying: “Beyond parties, recognising PV and conferring Bharat Ratna shows the good values, manners of our Prime Minister.”
She added: “Though there is a slight delay, it’s ok.... Telangana people are very happy over Bharat Ratna being conferred upon Narasimha Rao. The family members are overwhelmed. We are very excited.”
Swaminathan’s daughter Soumya Swaminathan said her father, who died last year aged 98, would have been happy “if the news had come during his lifetime” but added that he never “worked for awards or waited for recognition”.
The former chief scientist and former deputy director-general of the WHO said she was “proud and happy”.
