Lucknow, Dec 28 (IANS) The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) Monday said it would mobilise farmers to join the campaign for the formation of Harit Pradesh, a proposed state comprising parts of western Uttar Pradesh, a party official said Monday.
“We will now demand the formation of Harit Pradesh through ‘Kisan Panchayats’ (farmers’ meetings) that would be held in association with several farmers’ outfits in major towns of western Uttar Pradesh,” RLD Uttar Pradesh unit president Ram Asrey Verma told reporters here.

“Mobilising farmers to fight for the development of western Uttar Pradesh would be the main objective of the panchayats. Our leaders will highlight the merits of smaller states to them (farmers) so that they can co-relate themselves with the creation of Harit Pradesh and its benefits,” he said.

The RLD is led by Ajit Singh, former union agriculture minister and son of Charan Singh.

According to party officials, these kisan panchayats would be organised in a phased manner from the first week of January. In the first phase, the kisan panchayats will be held in Meerut, Bareilly and Agra.

If Harit Pradesh is created, it will comprise 24 districts, 30 Lok Sabha constituencies and 150 assembly seats, with a Dalit population of 17-28 percent. The population of Other Backward Classes (OBC) like Jats, Lodhs and Yadavs would be about 30 percent, the RLD leader added.