RLD, BJP near deal in UP

NEW DELHI: Former Union minister Ajit Singh met leader of the opposition LK Advani on Monday, in a move that indicated that the RLD and the BJP were close to wrapping up a seat-sharing deal in Uttar Pradesh. The two parties inched closer to a deal after the BJP signalled its desire to cede additional ground to the RLD.

The BJP had initially offered six seats ��� in the Jat-dominated western UP ��� to the RLD. These included Baghpat, which is Ajit Singh���s stronghold, Muzaffarnagar, Mathura, Amroha, Nagina and Hathras. It���s learnt that the saffron outfit has now agreed to allocate an additional seat to the RLD.

The RLD chief���s meeting with the NDA���s prime ministerial candidate was preceded by some hard-nosed talks between the parties. BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, who is in-charge of steering the party���s campaign, has been holding discussions with Ajit Singh.

According to BJP sources, talks between the two sides have almost been concluded and only some ���minor��� details needed to be thrashed out. If everything goes according to the script, Ajit Singh could well be gracing the end-of-the-session dinner hosted by Mr Advani on February 26 for all NDA MPs.

Invites for the gathering have already been sent to new-found allies such as the AGP and the INLD.
By finalising a seat-sharing pact with the RLD, thea BJP hopes to form an umbrella social coalition, comprising the jats, thakurs, vaishyas, brahmins and non-yadav OBCs. The coalition, it hopes, would serve the alliance well in western UP.