The Jat Algebra

Rashtriya Lok Dal supremo Ajit Singh, who resigned from the Union cabinet last week purportedly at the BJP’s insistence, is trying desperately to fix a new equation in UP. All the RLD ministers, who quit the Mayawati government, subsequently also withdrew their support. And though Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with the Jat leader has made no effective headway, Ajit Singh has sent feelers to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former UP CM and Rashtriya Kranti Party leader Kalyan Singh. Says he: "If the four parties (SP, RKP, RLD and Congress) come to a long-term understanding then a strong front that can dislodge the BSP-BJP coalition can be forged."