The Congress Monday tied up with its existing UPA partner Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD), which for itself saw the entry of expelled Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada into its fold. The Congress also allied with a small outfit called Mahan Dal, which espouses the cause of most backward classes.
The ruling party, which announced candidates for 50 of the 80 lok Sabha seats for Uttar Pradesh last week, left eight seats for its ally RlD and three seats for Mahan Dal in the Western UP region. While the Ajit Singh-led RlD enjoys a clout over Jats of the region, Mahan Dal represents the most backward classes of Shakyas, Mauryas and Kushwahas. The Congress pipped the BJP to the post in allying with Mahan Dal whose vote bank comprises non-Yadavs and non-lodhs in the region.
The RlD would contest the Fatehpur Sikri, Kairana, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Hathras, Bijnore and Amroha seats. Baghpat is represented by Union Minister Ajit Singh and Mathura is represented in lok Sabha by his son Jayant Chaudhary. Etah, Nagina and Badaun seats have been left for the Mahan Dal. Etah is currently represented by senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who returned to the BJP last week, while Badaun and Nagina are represented by the SP’s Dharmendra Yadav and Yashvir Singh, respectively.
The RlD is wary of a dent in its Jat vote bank following the Muzaffarnagar riots as it perceives Ajit Singh did not take up their cause. It is this vote bank that the BJP is eyeing now. Earlier in the day, ending months of speculation, Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and sitting lok Sabha MP Jaya Prada joined the RlD. Singh is to be fielded from Fatehpur Sikri and Jaya Prada from Bijnore.
Addressing mediapersons, while Amar Singh said he was not joining RlD for electoral politics, Jaya Prada said Ajit Singh always used to support her and she will do everything to strengthen the party. Jaya Prada, who is an MP from Rampur lok Sabha seat, was brought into SP by Amar Singh, but with his fall in the party, her fortunes too had begun to fall. The discord between Jaya Prada and the SP veteran Azam Khan made headlines.
The cine actress, however, had won the last lok Sabha polls from Rampur despite stiff resistance from Khan. The influential Muslim leader had in May 2009 quit all party posts protesting against SP’s decisions like aligning with Kalyan Singh and fielding Jaya Prada from Rampur. For the last few months there was intense speculation that the two could join the Congress. Jaya Prada also met Sonia Gandhi in this regard. However, the Congress was apparently not comfortable about accommodating Amar Singh in the party fold.
Amar Singh said that SP supremo Mulayam Singh would not feel bad over him having joined RlD as Mulayam started his politics from the same house of Chaudhary Charan Singh who promoted Mulayam like his foster son. “I have come to the roots,” he said.