Former Union minister Ajit Singh today carried out his threat of striking in Uttar Pradesh when his Rashtriya Lok Dal withdrew support to the Mayawati government by submitting a letter to Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri, demanding that the government be dismissed and efforts made to install an alternative. While there is no immediate threat to the government which still has the support of 211 MLAs in a House of 402, the move has the backing of a unified Opposition including the RLD, the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the RKP. MLAs in Pachmarhi BHOPAL: The nine MLAs of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) from UP, who had left here on Wednesday evening for an undisclosed destination, were stationed in the hill resort of Pachmarhi. Reports reaching here on Friday said the MLAs, staying in a hotel belonging to a Congress leader, have claimed that they were not under any pressure. A new alliance may be formed in UP as an alternative to the govt after the recent meeting of RLD president Ajit Singh and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, they said. (PTI) Soon after a meeting with Shastri, RLD chief Ajit Singh said: ‘‘The Mayawati government has come into minority and its recommendations, even for dissolution of the Assembly, should not be entertained. We hope the Governor would act as per democratic norms.’’ The new Opposition group has a two-pronged strategy to tilt fortune in its favour. First, it would like Shastri to ask for a vote of confidence since, sources said, he is obliged to do so — it was because of the RLD’s letter of support that he invited Mayawati to prove her majority and form the government. ‘‘Without the RLD, the government does not have the majority because Independents can go any which way. Now he has to ask her (Mayawati) to prove her majority again,’’ said a source. If Shastri does not do so, the Opposition parties are willing to reveal their cards and parade the MLAs themselves who will be in the ‘‘required majority.’’ Today, the unified Opposition stands at 191 MLAs and they hope to get eight Independents and a 22-strong group of disgruntled BJP MLAs. ‘‘The Governor is certainly going to use the weekend as an excuse to consult the books. We can expect to move once the week begins,’’ said a highly-placed source. In Lucknow, the ruling coalition made light of the development with BJP’s Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon saying: ‘‘This move, like their earlier moves, will also fizzle out because we have enough numbers.’’ At the same time, the government isn’t taking chances and sources said a list of legislators with criminal cases against them has already been prepared which could come handy for Mayawati to coerce them into submission. Seven out of total 14 RLD MLAs have criminal cases against them.
