Amar Singh, Jaya Prada join Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal

NEW DELHI: Former SP MP Amar Singh finally reserved his spot in the Lok Sabha polls of 2014 along with the woman he terms as his “only loyal friend”, Rampur MP Jaya Prada. The two have formally joined the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal and will, in all likelihood, fight elections from Fatehpur Sikri and Bijnore, respectively.

The announcement took even some Congressmen by surprise. They had expected Jaya’s name to be announced as the party’s candidate from Moradabad, where former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin was reluctant to repeat his candidature.

In the end, said Singh, the two decided to throw in their lot with Ajit Singh as the party was able to accommodate both of them. Singh, along with Jaya Prada, had sought political rehabilitation through the Congress, but while the party was willing to admit the former film star, it wasn’t willing to grant Amar Singh a LS ticket from Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida).

“I did meet Sonia Gandhi twice but that doesn’t mean I’m a Congressperson,” said Jaya Prada. Negotiations with Ajit Singh were initiated last week when it was clear that the Congress wouldn’t budge. As for Ajit Singh, he decided to take the controversial Amar Singh on board, betting that he could be of help given that RLD chief is facing a tough election.

Just how Amar and Jaya became a political package deal has its roots in AP politics. It happened when Jaya, then a Telugu Desam Party Rajya Sabha member, fell out of favour after the death of NT Rama Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu took over.

“When I was isolated politically, Amar Singhji took me into the SP. It’s rare for someone to give you a helping hand when you’re going through rejection,” she said.