Friends in need flock together

Both Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are said to be discussing options to rehabilitate their ally Ram Vilas Paswan,who lost his Hajipur seat as well in the blank drawn by his party in the Lok Sabha. People close to the leaders say that three options are being discussed. One,to get Paswan to contest from the Ferozabad seat being vacated by Mulayams son Akhilesh; two,arrange for a Rajya Sabha berth; and third,to urge the Congress to nominate Paswan as the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes NCSC,a post being vacated by rebel Congress leader Buta Singh. It remains to be seen which of the three options works out.