Former agriculture minister Ajit Singh formed Rashtriya Lok Dal in the year gone by to savour the interests of farmers and villagers. The party is very much evident in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal has struck an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh under which Ajit Singh`s party would contest 10 seats, leaving the remaining 70 to SP. Both parties claimed that the alliance would play a crucial role in the formation of the next government but remained non-committal on supporting Congress in the post-poll scenario. Under the seat adjustment formula, the Ajit Singh-led RLD would contest 10 seats, mostly in western Uttar Pradesh. The SP-RLD alliance came in the backdrop of Mulayam Singh`s oft-repeated stand that his party would not align with anyone and would "give and take" support based on issues.