New Delhi, Jan. 4: The BJP’s desperate hunt for partners to shore up the NDA’s prospects has yielded poor results.

What is worse, those who appear to have fallen into the saffron net have begun to create problems over seat-sharing.

The new sting has come from Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which had agreed to contest the general election with the BJP. But the unpredictable Ajit has delayed signing the deal because he wants two seats more than the six the BJP has offered in western Uttar Pradesh.

What has alarmed the BJP is the speculation about Ajit’s change of heart in the wake of its defeat in Delhi and Rajasthan. The Congress has begun to work on the Jat leader, who has declined to speak about the alliance with the BJP.

BJP leaders have also toned down their claims about the pact and described it as “being in process”.

The leaders, however, said they couldn’t give the RLD more than six seats. A senior Uttar Pradesh leader, who admitted there was a “deadlock,” said: “We are better placed in western Uttar Pradesh than in any other part. How can we spare everything for the alliance partner? We hope the RLD sees the BJP as a stronger party in Uttar Pradesh than the Congress.”

If the alliance doesn’t materialise because of the two seats, the BJP central leadership will cut a sorry figure among state leaders. All state leaders were opposed to an understanding with Ajit.

The pact with Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana was also sealed ignoring local sentiments.

The BJP managed to rope in smaller parties like the AGP in Assam but almost drew a blank in the south. The impending alliance with Jayalalithaa’s ADMK proved a fantasy. Its efforts in Andhra Pradesh also came a cropper.