10 MPs absent at SP meet but why UPA isn’t sleepless yet

But when the dust settled tonight, general secretary Amar Singh claimed he had 38 MPs to offer to the UPA — 37 of his party and the lone MP from the National Loktantrik Party, Baleshwar Yadav. He also claimed that seven MPs from the BSP were “in touch” with his party.

The two SP MPs who turned rebels, he admitted, were Munawwar Hasan and Jai Prakash Rawat. A scrutiny of the list absentees shows that it includes clear loyalists, some clearly “vulnerable” to pressure from rival parties and others who have little choice. In short, the SP is set to deliver on its promise to the UPA.

•Atiq Ahmad: The MP from Phoolpur is in jail since February for threatening witnesses in a case involving the murder of BSP leader Raju Pal. After he was jailed, the party suspended him. Some time ago, he made overtures to Mayawati saying she deserved to be Prime Minister but Mayawati made it clear that he would not be inducted in the BSP. Sources said that Beni Prasad Verma, a rebel in the SP seeking greener pastures in the Congress, has been entrusted with the responsibility of getting Atiq to vote in favour of the UPA in the event of a trust vote.

•Afzal Ansari: Brother of mafia don-turned-politician and independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari, Afzal entered Lok Sabha for the first time in the last election on an SP ticket from Ghazipur. Afzal has been in jail since December 2005 as an accused in BJP leader Krishnanand Rai’s murder. Unlike Atiq, Afzal was not suspended from the party after he was jailed. Sources said Congress leaders are trying to “manage” Afzal. But there is also talk that the BSP is trying to negotiate with him.

•Raj Babbar: Started his political career in 1994 when SP nominated him as Rajya Sabha member. After that Babbar fought two Lok Sabha elections from Agra on an SP ticket. He raised his voice against SP general secretary Amar Singh and later joined V P Singh’s Jan Morcha when he saw that the party was not reacting to his charges against Amar Singh. Babbar is said to be working hard to find a place in the Congress so there’s little chance of him defying the SP whip.

•Beni Prasad Verma: First-time MLA in 1974, he became SP general secretary in 1993 and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996 from Kaiserganj. Once a trusted lieutenant of Mulayam, their relations soured with the growing clout of Amar Singh. He formed his own party, Samajwadi Kranti Dal, and openly announced his intention to join the Congress.

•Munnawar Hasan: The MP from Muzaffarnagar declared that he will defy the party’s whip. Relations between Munnawar and Mulayam soured during last Assembly elections when he demanded tickets for his wife, brother and brother-in-law, which Mulayam denied. Eventually, they got tickets from RLD but all three were trounced. Since May 2007, when BSP came to power in the state, Hasan is as good as a BSP man; he is BSP in charge for Kairana seat.

•Jai Prakash Rawat: A three-time MP from Hardoi, Rawat won the last election on an SP ticket from Mohanlalganj. He travelled from BJP to Loktantrik Congress before coming to SP. Today, he protested against the party line on the nuclear deal and declared that he would go against it. He is believed to be in touch with the BSP. Also, he is close to Naresh Agarwal who recently left the SP and joined the BSP.

•Reoti Raman Singh: A staunch SP loyalist, Singh could not attend the meeting due to an illness. However, he sent a letter expressing support.

•Mohan Singh: He, too, is a party loyalist, considered its intellectual face. He could not attend the meeting since he was indisposed.

•Kirti Vardhan Singh: A first-time MP from Gonda, Singh has just started his political career. His associates rule out any possibility of him drifting away from the party which gave him the break.