Amar keeps options open

Sources close to Singh told Deccan Herald that SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav would, this time round, not be able to woo back Singh as his split with the current ruling coterie in the SP cannot bridged.

 "He will remain in the cold storage for a good period before emerging afresh," they said.
Confidants of  the erstwhile right-hand man of Yadav also sought to say that the communication lines were open with the BJP. “There are many friends in the BJP and they have invited him,” they said when asked about the possibilities of Singh crossing over  to a national party.

“The possibility could not be ruled out. Talks are on,” sources  said. When contacted ,BJP leaders chose to play down the possibilities of Singh joining their ranks. Another senior party leader went to the extent of saying that “if (Singh’s joining BJP) happens, it may lead to revolt in the party.”

Singh is now also seem to be sending feelers to the Congress party by praising 10 Janpath in his blog.  Asked about reconciliation with the SP as was hinted by the SP chief, sources in the Singh camp said.

“There is no possibility of reconciliations. Differences cannot be bridged between Singh and some of the key functionaries in the party."  

The SP President's son Akhilesh Yadav and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav have sought to isolate Singh who they thought had a remote control of  the party supremo.

Yadav has admitted that there were differences between Ram Gopal Yadav and Singh but felt that he could sort them out by a one-on-one talk with the latter.

Besides the immediate Yadav family, several others in the SP had also resented Singh's stranglehold on the party.

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who remained the SP's most prominent Muslim face, had to move out of the party in 2009 on account of  Singh's insistence to field a Bollywood actress from Rampur as party Lok Sabha candidate.

Another actor-turned politician Raj Babbar was draggers-drawn with Singh before he quit the SP and joined the Congress. The story was similar with former union minister Beni Prasad who crossed over to the Congress on account of  Singh's alleged control.