Ameeta and Sanjay: Fuming?

Lucknow, March 31: Sanjay Singh’s absence at Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi roadshow over the last two days has led to speculation that the man commonly dubbed the Raja of Amethi is sulking at not getting a Lok Sabha ticket.

Others feel that Sanjay, 52, has been asked to keep away because some Congress leaders are opposed to him.

The speculation has added to the confusion of Uttar Pradesh Congress functionaries, who have been left to plough a lonely furrow after alliance talks with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party broke down.

Neither Sanjay nor his wife, Ameeta, both of whom joined the Congress recently, were anywhere near Rahul when he made waves in Amethi.

When the Gandhi-Nehru family scion met district-level Congress leaders early yesterday, Sanjay made a brief appearance, leaving soon after exchanging pleasantries with Rahul. He smiled at some waiting journalists but would not speak to them. He was not among the functionaries who thronged Lucknow airport when Rahul flew back to Delhi.

Congress sources say Sanjay is none too happy. He is learned to have asked for the Sultanpur seat adjacent to Amethi, but this was allotted instead to Gandhi loyalist Captain Satish Sharma. Sanjay then turned his attention to Fatehpur, which is yet to be allotted. But he is turning jittery as the date for filing nominations draws near.

But other party sources say Sanjay has been asked to stay away as the fact that he was in the BJP until recently may not go down well with voters. Also, some senior state leaders reportedly do not want him to emerge as another power centre.

Party spokesman Akhilesh Singh said Sanjay came to the meeting to visit Rahul. But he excused himself as he was preoccupied elsewhere. Besides, he does not have a following along the route Rahul took, Akhilesh said.

But not all Congress workers agree. They say Sanjay controls Thakur votes in the area. When the raja quit the Congress and became a BJP MP from Amethi in 1998, he was backed by many Thakur and Brahmin voters.

Thakur votes are expected to go Rahul’s way now that Sanjay has rejoined the Congress, but the raja’s indifference to the former’s campaign may act as a spoiler.