Mulayam-Ajit pact may upset BJP plan in UP

In what may emerge as a powerful social coalition in western Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has offered 10 Jat-dominated seats to Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and has decided to contest the rest 70 seats in the state.

Mulayam-Ajit tie-up that faced several hiccups is likely to throw up a formidable combination of Muslim, Yadav, Jat and Rajput, which has the potency to upset many political equations.

Addressing a joint press conference with Ajit Singh here today, Yadav said the RLD would contest 10 of the 22 seats in western UP.

While Yadav displayed magnanimity in sharing almost half of the western UP seats with Ajit Singh, it was a windfall for the RLD.

The RLD will contest Bijnore, Kairana, Bagpat, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Amroha, Meerut, Hapur, Khurja, and Mathura seats.

With all these seats being Jat-dominated, Singh's position in this region appears to be consolidated.

Unlike the past when Singh had to play a marginal role and could win only two seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha election, the RLD is set to play a crucial role in this election with the new equation.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders admit that in the emerging scenario, Jats, Yadavs, Rajputs and Muslims would be arrayed by Mulayam-Ajit combine to establish political dominance in western UP.

Yadav made it clear that he would not have any truck either with the Congress or the Left parties in this election.

"The Congress must introspect and come out of its dilemma," the UP chief minister said while responding to questions on the possibility of tie-up with the Congress.

On the possibility of a post-poll alliance with the BJP, Yadav said he had already described the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Mayawati and the BJP as communal.

"When Narendra Modi appreciates Mayawati, it is all the more evident," Yadav said emphasising that he would have no alliance with the BJP.

However, in a tactical response on the post-poll tie-up with the Congress, he said, "Let the time come and we will decide.". He did not rule out the possibility of his contesting the poll.

But the manner in which Yadav has forged an alliance in west UP by conceding a large number of seats to the RLD has worried the BJP.

According to sources, the alliance could neutralise the impact of re-induction of Kalyan Singh in the BJP in the election to the 14th Lok Sabha.