Other States - Uttar Pradesh   

Mayawati shatters Ajit Singh’s hopes

LUCKNOW: Known for switching loyalties for political gains, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh’s bargaining capacity has suffered a huge dent following Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s announcement at the Bahujan Samaj Party convention here on Saturday that her party would contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats from the State in next year’s general elections. The BSP leader followed this up by stating that her party’s candidates had been finalised for all the seats.

Mr. Ajit Singh, who had joined forces with the BSP president before the July 22 trust vote in Parliament, reportedly at the behest of Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, had pinned hopes on a tie-up with the BSP in UP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. But with the Chief Minister setting the record straight now, the possibility of a BSP-RLD alliance has receded.

The RLD has three MPs from UP, including Mr. Ajit Singh himself from Baghpat, in the present Lok Sabha, who voted against the trust motion on the Indo-US nuclear deal. It was reported that after the trust vote had been won by the UPA Government, the Mayawati-Ajit Singh alliance would be extended to U.P..

Sources in the ruling party told The Hindu that notwithstanding Mr. Ajit Singh’s support to Ms. Mayawati, the Chief Minister was reluctant to extend the understanding to UP. Sources said the RLD president was bargaining for the Mathura Lok Sabha seat to be given to his son, Jayant Chaudhary. That the Chief Minister was not interested in the proposal became evident when she reportedly told former State Minister and Loktantrik Congress Party member Shyam Sunder Sharma to contest the polls from Mathura.

The Bijnore Lok Sabha seat, represented by the RLD in the House, was another seat preferred by the RLD president. Shahid Siddiqui, who deserted the Samajwadi Party recently, was named the BSP candidate from Bijnore by Ms. Mayawati on Saturday.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Mayawati shatters Ajit Singh’s hopes
Rape victim protests police inaction
CMO attacked, killed

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu