Agrees to give RLD leader Ajit Singh a Cabinet berth, ropes in SP muslim leader.
The Congress in Uttar Pradesh has joining hands with Jat leader Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), improving its chances of increasing its seat tally in the crucial 2012 Assembly polls. As the RLD has a considerable foothold in the Jat-dominant western UP, the Congress hopes the alliance to up it seat tally from the existing 20.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led UPA has agreed to RLD chief Ajit Singh’s demand for a Cabinet berth. The party has also managed a coup of sorts by bringing on board prominent Muslim face Rashid Masood, Rajya Sabha member from the Samajwadi Party (SP).
In November, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had told Business Standard that an alliance with RLD was on the cards. Also, he had said, “That RLD chief Ajit Singh would be given a Cabinet berth cannot be ruled out”. Holding negotiations with Ajit Singh all this while, the Congress general secretary on Saturday finalised the pact in the presence of the party president Sonia Gandhi and Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. Speculation is rife that Singh would be given the ministry of civil aviation.
In the 2007 Assembly polls, RLD had contested alone and won 10 seats. Talks between both sides had been on for quite some time but were delayed over differences in seat sharing. Even as the RLD had initially demanded 80 seats, the final agreement was reached at 45. The Congress will contest the remaining seats. The earlier conjectures of a “friendly fight” between the two have also been put to rest with this agreement.
Congress leader Mohan Prakash, who was present at the meeting, was confident the tie-up “will prove to be a game changer.” He said, “In western UP, the Samajwadi Party has practically no presence. While the BJP is at an all-time low, the BSP is plagued by the anti-incumbency factor.” According to him, in such a scenario, the tie-up with RLD would reap rich dividends for the Congress.
Significantly, the tie-up also has political implications for the UPA at the Centre. RLD has five members in the Lok Sabha and is all set to get a plum Cabinet berth, at a time when UPA allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK have been giving it a tough time.
Prakash also announced that former union minister and SP leader Rashid Masood would be soon joining the party. Masood’s entry is an attempt to boost the party’s prospects among the Muslim electorate. A known name, Masood has also been the UPA’s candidate in the 2007 vice presidential elections.
The Congress hopes the move would, to a certain extent, counter the Muslim vote swinging towards the SP, which has a considerable hold over the Muslim community.
With both these feathers under its cap, the Congress hopes to brighten its prospects in the 2012 UP elections.
