Lalu Prasad Yadav in, DMK out in realigned UPA?
Amid talk of the looming expansion-cum-reshuffle of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA-2 government, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, leading to some speculation on a possible realignment of forces within the ruling coalition.
Sources claimed that Mrs Gandhi and Mr Lalu Yadav had discussed the possibility of the RJD entering the government, in a move by the UPA to create a buffer in the ruling coalition given the current strained relationship between the Congress and the DMK.
Interestingly, the Congress is also already engaged in talks with Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, who has five Lok Sabha MPs, for a possible tie-up ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year.
Revealing this at a recent meeting with reporters, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh had said: “The stage is set to rope in the RLD. Only discussions are to take place. Hopefully we will get Ajit Singh on board.”
Now if the RJD, with its four MPs in the Lok Sabha, is also roped in, it would give Mrs Gandhi and the Prime Minister ample elbow room to effectively deal with the DMK while they rejig ministerial berths.
Congress sources said that if the RJD, which already gives outside support, agrees to join the government, the leadership would prefer to accommodate former rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who spearheaded the successful launch of the UPA’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Speculation is rife about that Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia might be inducted into the ministry.
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