The curious case of Ajit Singh

If Ajit Singh was one of the factors in Kalyan Singhs decision to leave the BJP,he was also a morale booster for the saffron party...

If Ajit Singh was one of the factors in Kalyan Singhs decision to leave the BJP,he was also a morale booster for the saffron party when nine MLAs from his Rashtriya Lok Dal RLD ensured the BJP its second Legislative Council seat in Uttar Pradesh last week. But this is not the first time that UP has been left shaken and stirred in the wake of the Jat leaders shenanigans.

In the political arena,the Rashtriya Lok Dal chief has acquired the reputation of being a tough bargainer who keeps all lines open with all prospective allies until D-day. BJP leaders themselves were not betting on anything. Of course,it came as a relief to the saffron brigade when Ajit made his intentions clear during the UP Legislative Council election,which is an important indicator of the political realignments ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In areas of western Uttar Pradesh,Ajit Singh holds sway over the formidable Jat vote bank courtesy the legacy of his father,former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh. BJP president Rajnath Singh himself is hoping to sail through in Ghaziabad with the Jat votes the RLD can garner. While Ajit alone cannot emerge as a big player,its his ability to play a spoiler that has kept him going for so long and,in this age of coalition politics,has made him a key factor for anyone hoping for success in the state.

This time,however,he may have had little option other than to stick with the BJP. The Congress and Samajwadi Party seem determined to stick to other,and the former has already announced its candidates from Baghpat,the seat represented by Ajit Singh.

While Ajit might have preferred joining the Congress-SP bandwagon to protect his Muslim vote bank,SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was reportedly not too keen to have the Jat leader. He also feels that an RLD-BJP alliance would spoil arch enemy Mayawatis prospects.

RLD leaders,meanwhile,are not very enthused about Ajit Singhs permutations and combinations. The BJP looks in complete disarray. The prospects of its coming to power at the Centre have diminished sharply,and we are going to align with them, remarked an RLD leader.

During the trust vote in Parliament too,Ajit Singh played his cards wrong when,after giving all indications that he would back the UPA,he shocked everyone by surfacing in Mayawatis residence and saying just the opposite. The RLD leader perhaps hoped that this crossover would get his party an alliance with the BSP in UP and consequently a good number of seats in the Lok Sabha and bargaining power in the next government.

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What he hadnt accounted for was Mayawati,a leader whose unpredictability is almost as legendary as his. She left Ajit Singh high and dry when she announced that the BSP would go it alone and would contest all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

When asked who the RLD would ally with a few days ago,Ajit Singh did not give a clear answer,but was firm about one thing: My aim is to defeat Mayawati.