Efforts are on to bring round Republican Left Democratic Front ufffd a league of second-string parties set up on the eve of 2009 state elections
Politicians have a penchant for exhuming buried issues to go one up on opponents. But come election time, the dead — be it alliances, ideologies, or voters — begin to come alive.u00a0Such a resurgence is again in evidence, seeing that attempts are on to resuscitate the seemingly defunct Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF) — a league of second-string parties set up on the eve of 2009 state elections.u00a0
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A notable difference this time around is the participation of Bharatiya Republican Party led by Prakash Ambedkar who, despite concerted efforts, did not join the front during its inception. He is going to replace Republican Party of India (A) leader Ramdas Athawale, who has now aligned with the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. u00a0A series of meetings to b ring round RLDF are being organised by Ambedkar — a former MP from Akola — at his Dadar office these days and announcement on the front’s future is expected around May 20, said a political leader, which is a part of the association.u00a0
Republican Party of India (United), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (M), Peasants and Workers Party, Janata Dal (S), Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Samaj Party, Swabhimani Paksha, Chhatra Bharati and Others were part of the outfit in 2009. The RLDF had won 10 assembly seats in those polls, of which 4 were secured by PWP, 3 by Samajwadi Party, 2 by Rashtriya Samaj Party and 1 by Swabhimani Paksha. While PWP has remained neutral, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Paksha members are known to be close to NCP. People who are familiar with the developments are not sure if these parties are going to align with RLDF in its new avatar.
When probed about the efforts to rejuvenate RLDF, a neta who is a part of the invigoration process said there was need to offer a viable option to people as they are fed up with the ruling Congress-NCP combine as well as the principal opposition BJP-Shiv Sena. The formation was essential well ahead of polls to fight for various citizen-centric issues. Also, voters tend to have less faith in fronts formed on the eve of elections, he conceded. u00a0
10u00a0No of assembly seats RLDF had won in 2009
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