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Amar, Jaya Prada join RLD, to contest from UP
Amar, Jaya Prada join RLD, to contest from UP, Jaya Prada, Ajit Singh's party, Rashtriya Lok Dal. Both Amar Singh and Jaya Prada termed RLD leader Ajit Singh as their Big Boss, leaving it to him to zero-in on their constituencies.
New Delhi: Expelled Congress MP from Rampur and former cine-star Jaya Prada, who came into the limelight with the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, has once again decided to contest from the Hindi-heartland State of Uttar Pradesh.
Instead of Rampur, she is likely to contest from Bijnore, on the ticket of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Earlier, in 2009, she had fought from Samajwadi Party and won the seat despite stiff resistance from senior SP leader Azam Khan.
Jaya Prada along with her "Godfather" and former Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh joined the RLD amidst speculation that the latter was refused entry into the Congress by Sonia Gandhi. Amar Singh, however, denied such reports and apologized to the Congress President for criticising her foreign origins in the past. He said that he had attacked her as the SP spokesperson. Amar Singh also praised PM Manmohan Singh and reminded him of his commitment that when he will write his book, he will devote one full chapter on him, on how he helped the UPA government in winning the Vote of Confidence after the Indo-US Civil Nuclear deal. Amar Singh was alleged to have played a big role in saving the minority government of the Congress and was indicted in the Cash-for-Votes scam.
Both Amar Singh and Jaya Prada termed RLD leader Ajit Singh as their Big Boss, leaving it to him to zero-in on their constituencies. Ajit Singh, while welcoming both the expelled leaders, asserted that he would not desert the Congress and would remain part of the UPA government.
Sources stated that Jaya Prada's induction into the Congress was
Amar Singh, one-time close friend of SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, was expelled from the party due to his differences with Azam Khan. He floated his own outfit, Rashtriya Lok Manch in 2011 and fielded candidates in 360 of the 403 seats in UP in the 2012 Assembly polls.
His party could not win a single seat. He is once again entering into the political fray, this time from RLD, a party, which is directly pitted against the Samajwadi Party. Amar Singh is tipped to contest from Fatehpur Sikri in UP.
The RLD, a constituent of the UPA will be contesting from 8 seats as part of the seat-sharing alliance with the Congress. These include Mathura, Baghpat, Hathras, Amroha, Kairana, Bijnore, Bulandshahr and Fatehpur Sikri.
When asked about his not joining the BJP, Amar Singh said that he had good relations with BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi though he had ideological differences with him. By joining the RLD, both these leaders, would indirectly be part of the UPA.
