Mulayam cousin set to become RS dy chairman

Besides,it is a visible overture by the Congress,which needs the support of the SP’s 22 Lok Sabha MPs given the strain in its ties with the Trinamool Congress.

Another factor in favour of Ramgopal’s selection is the forthcoming presidential election in July 2012. Here too,the Congress,which has been losing ground to regional satraps in states,needs the SP’s support. With 224 MLAs and 22 members in the Lok Sabha,and with its Rajya Sabha count set to rise after the March 30 elections,the SP will have a major say in who gets elected.

Earlier,the SP had lent its support to A P J Abdul Kalam,helping him get elected as president.

The selection of Ramgopal as Rajya Sabha deputy chairman will mark a return to prominence in national politics for the SP. During the UPA I regime,the SP had 36 MPs and had forged an unsaid alliance with Left groups. However,it had largely remained on the sidelines. In the UPA-II,while it has offered unconditional support to the Congress,this has not materialised into any benefit in national politics for it so far.

The other advantage of the Rajya Sabha post is that it is a constitutional post and SP leaders can boast of having got it on merit,without any truck with the Congress — a distance that can prove useful at the time of the Lok Sabha elections.