E-Paper
6 Independents willing, Cong gets closer
The United Progressive Alliance’s task of crossing the magical majority mark of 272 members in the Lok Sabha just got a little easier. On Monday, of the nine Independents elected this time, six clearly indicated their willingness to join the Treasury benches.
The United Progressive Alliance’s task of crossing the magical majority mark of 272 members in the Lok Sabha just got a little easier.
On Monday, of the nine Independents elected this time, six clearly indicated their willingness to join the Treasury benches.
Two are still undecided while only one — Inder Singh Namdhari from Chatra in Jharkhand — has categorically ruled out backing the Congress.
Among the six who are willing, three are rebels. They are Kirori Lal Meena, MP from Dausa, Rajasthan, from the BJP; Digvijay Singh, from Banka in Bihar from the Janata Dal-United; and Sadashiv Mandlik, from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, from the Nationalist Congress Party.
The two who are undecided are also rebels — Kalyan Singh, MP from Etah in Uttar Pradesh, from the BJP; and Om Prakash Yadav, MP from Siwan in Bihar, from the JD-U.
The last three are genuine free floaters: Madhu Koda from Singhbhum, who achieved the amazing feat of being Jharkhand’s chief minister for almost two years without having any party affiliation; and peasant leaders Baliram Jadhav and Raju Shetty, MPs from Palghat and Hatkanangale, respectively.
