Rahul Gandhi gives Ajit Singh 45 seats; no word on cabinet berth

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Chaudhary Ajit Singh to finalise the alliance between the two parties ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year.

Party sources maintained that the details of the seat sharing arrangement have already been finalised and the RLD would be contesting 45 out of the 403 seats. “Basically this was more like a policy and planning interaction wherein overarching issues were discussed,” said a senior Congress functionary. With the alliance in the bag, the Congress feels optimistic not about its chances in the jat stronghold of western UP dominated by the RLD, but is also hopeful that its overall acceptability as a serious challenger would improve.

However, Congress sources are silent about the key issue of a cabinet berth for the RLD chief. They maintain this is no longer a contentious issue, but are unsure about other details.