Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary on Monday confirmed that his party had decided to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, attributing the hurriedly taken decision to “circumstances”.

“I took the decision after speaking to party MLAs and workers. There was no big planning behind it and we had to take the decision within a short span of time due to the circumstances,” Jayant told reporters in Delhi when asked about him breaking out of the INDIA bloc and aligning with the BJP. The RLD boss, however, refused to divulge the “circumstances” that compelled him to switch sides.

Jayant confirmed the alliance with the BJP after participating in the birth anniversary celebrations of his late father Ajit Singh, a former Union minister, who headed the RLD before him.

“We want to do something good for the country and our people. And when the Bharat Ratna has been conferred (on Charan Singh), we are all filled with joy. This is a big honour and it is not about my family but an honour for the farmers and the youth of this country,” he said.

The RLD’s exit, coming close on the heels of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar realigning with the BJP, dealt another blow to the INDIA bloc.

The BJP hopes that the alliance with the RLD will help it sweep the 26 Lok Sabha seats in west Uttar Pradesh, which is heavily populated by Jat community voters.

“Our supporters want that the RLD should get at least four Lok Sabha seats to contest in alliance with the BJP, in addition to ministerial berths in the Yogi government,” RLD general secretary Vikrant Javla said.