NEW DELHI: Congress and Ajit Singh's RLD have tied up for the UP Rajya Sabha elections in what can potentially lead to a larger political alliance between the two ahead of UP elections.
Sources in the Congress said Ajit Singh's decision to support Congress's Satish Sharma was only the beginning of the process and that negotiations between the two sides looked at the possibility of a long-term partnership.
The details are yet to be worked out, and given Ajit Singh's reputation as a tough bargainer, Congressmen will not like to risk guesses about the outcome. But the party is keen to rope in Ajit Singh before the battle for the 2012 UP polls is joined. "We don't know how it is going to unroll, but merger of RLD is a possibility that we are looking at," a source said.
Congress and Ajit Singh tried negotiating a power-sharing pact at the Centre but could not get very far because of the gap between what the Jat leader insisted on and what Congress was ready to offer.
RLD is a pale shadow of the once-formidable Lok Dal which, under Ajit's father Chaudhary Charan Singh, became an important challenger to Congress. Unlike the Lok Dal which commanded the allegiance of intermediate castes across large swathes of north India, RLD's support base has shrunk only to the Jat segment which still swears by the legacy of "Chaudhary Saheb".
But the party has also shown considerable tenacity, defying predictions of near extinction. Though confined to the Jat-dominated pockets of UP, its loyalist base can be a good strategic fit for Congress's plan to put up a vastly improved performance in UP polls whose outcome will have a bearing on Rahul Gandhi's career moves.
The tie-up is significant also because it shows that fears provoked among Congress's rivals after it retained power at the Centre is yet to crystallize into anti-Congressism. It also illustrates the ability of Congress to find allies from the Opposition column even when it is hardly coy about its intent to put an end to the "era of coalitions".
Besides partnering Ajit Singh, Congress managers can hope to attract support also from Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party to ensure Satish Sharma's smooth election to Rajya Sabha. It has also worked out an arrangement with Ramvilas Paswan for RS elections in Bihar in a move to keep options open for the state which goes to polls later this year.
Talks are on with H D Deve Gowda's JD(S) as well. Though the former prime minister is giving some tough moments to Congress, the party wishes to have more options than observers thought it would have after the 2009 results.
