RLD sends feelers to Congress

[1]

With the UP Assembly elections slated for 2012, political realignments have begun in the state. The Ajit Singh-led RLD has sent feelers to the Congress in its bid to join the UPA. The Congress, on its part, has hinted to Mr Singh that he should merge his party with the Congress to ensure consolidation of their respective vote base in the western UP.
RLD chief Ajit Singh, in his talks with the Congress leaders, has sought one Cabinet and two ministerial berths. Sources said that the RLD chief is seeking the Cabinet position for himself apart from minister of state berths for his son Jayant Choudhary, who is a first-time Lok Sabha MP from Mathura parliamentary constituency, and senior party leader Anuradha Choudhary.
However, the Congress has hinted to the RLD chief that he should restrict his demands to one Cabinet and one minister of state berths.
The RLD has five Lok Sabha MPs and had contested the last general elections in alliance with the BJP with whom the party has dissociated its relations in recent times in its bid to warm up to the Congress. “The RLD’s numbers in the Lok Sabha can prove crucial given the fast unfolding political events, with Ms Mamata Banerjee’s relations souring with the Congress in the recent times,” stated a senior RLD functionary.
Both the parties are also warming to each other in the hope that they can consolidate the Jat and Muslim vote base in the western UP region, which is crucial for the formation of any government in UP.
“The last Lok Sabha elections has demonstrated that the Jat voters have come back to the RLD. The Muslim voters have been in a state of fix and had been drifting to either the Samajwadi Party or the BSP. The Muslim vote base can support the Congress-RLD combine if the alliance materialises,” added the functionary.
However, the hitch in the talks is the stand taken by Mr Ajit Singh’s son, Jayant Choudhary, who, sources said, wants to maintain the individual identity of his party and is insisting on an electoral alliance in place of merger with the Congress.