Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, who had been holding talks with both BJP and Congress for seat sharing in Lok Sabha elections
NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, who had been holding talks with both BJP and Congress for seat sharing in Lok Sabha elections, may get a place in the SP-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
Despite initial resistance, the Samajwadi Party leadership has reportedly agreed to accommodate Singh in the alliance.
Congress had been willing to adjust Singh for better poll prospects.
The SP indicated its willingness to bring Singh on board its alliance with Congress after an internal assessment suggested that it would suit the party's prospects in the state to take the RLD along with it, as Singh has a strong presence in western Uttar Pradesh which has 27 seats.
"The RLD can play a spoilsport for the alliance in West UP with its strong Jat vote bank," a SP leader said here.
He claimed that while RLD may not be able to win many seats, its strong Jat vote bank can create problems for the newly formed alliance which is aiming to win 50 out of 80 seats in the most populous state of the country.
The SP is against his demand of carving out Harit Pradesh from parts of UP and Haryana and wants him to keep the issue on back burner for the time being.
The leader said though Ajit Singh has changed alliances frequently in the last 10 years, this time he is not left with any other option, as BSP has already announced its list for the Lok Sabha polls, leaving him without any seats.
To a poser on reports of RLD and BJP inching towards a tie-up, the SP leader claimed with senior BJP leaders including Kalyan Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi against it, Singh can only hope to shake hands with SP and Congress.
"The BJP cannot ignore the protest of leaders like Kalyan Singh and Joshi just ahead of Lok Sabha elections," he said.
Even before the SP-Congress seat sharing talks had begun, Mulayam Singh Yadav had told party workers to aim at not less than 60 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. SP with 39 MPs believes that it can win 50 seats or more.
Meanwhile, Congress and Samajwadi Party are likely to meet next week and finalise the seat-sharing pact before Diwali.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}