The Hindu : Ajit Singh meets Sonia Gandhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 29, 2003

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Ajit Singh meets Sonia Gandhi

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI MAY 28. The former Union Agriculture Minister and Rahstriya Lok Dal chief, Ajit Singh, today called on the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. This is the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Singh resigned from the Vajpayee Cabinet last week.

Though both Mr. Singh and the Congress camp refused to divulge anything on what transpired at the meeting, the two leaders are reported to have discussed the "fluid situation'' in Uttar Pradesh. It appears likely that the Congress and the RLD will calibrate their efforts in the State. Mr. Singh with his 14 MLAs is a vital player in Uttar Pradesh can play the role of a cataylst in bringing the Opposition parties together, given the arithmetic in the U.P. Assembly. He could provide the much-needed fillip to the anti-Mayawati forces in the State. Along with the Samajwadi Party, Kalyan Singh's Kranti Dal, the Congress and the RLD, the anti-Mayawati can pose a realistic political challenge.

Though both sides were tightlipped, the two sides have agreed to work together both in U.P. and elsewhere. This could have an immediate impact in Rajasthan, where Mr. Ajit Singh has a sizeable following among Jats, who support the BJP. Infact, he was quick to get into the act by welcoming the Congress Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Ghelot's proposal for reservation for the poor among the forward.

With the former Union Minister intent on playing a pro-active role, the political pace in Uttar Pradesh will certainly pick up. "We aim to bring all the disparate groups together so that we can end this misrule,'' says a RLD senior leader.

Mr. Singh is also in touch with Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kalyan Singh. The Opposition is waiting for Mr. Yadav, whose wife died recently, to come back to political activity.

PTI reports from Lucknow:

Meanwhile, in line with the party's decision, the five RLD Ministers in the Mayawati Government in Uttar Pradesh have resigned.

Their resignations have been accepted by the Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri, on the recommendation of the Chief Minister, Mayawati, who is currently on a foreign tour, a Government notification said here tonight.

The five sent their resignations to the Chief Minister's secretariat last evening.

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